Great Lent Devotions by Rev. Fr. Mathew (Matt) Alexander (Dallas) : Week one Gospel & Devotionals
First Tuesday of the Great Lent
Matthew 6:1-6
1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
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It's really nice when someone really pays attention to what you are saying. I mean when they look you in the eye, listen to your words, and even hear the words you aren't saying. That feeling of being heard can calm anger, can wash away bitterness, can soothe hurt, comfort loneliness, lighten affliction. Even during a trivial conversation amongst friends, it can feel like some of the deepest moments of life. Our prayer life ought to be the same as well. When we pray, where is our attention? Sometimes when we pray, our prayer can be directed to the people around us instead of the Lord. Maybe it's showing off or maybe it is just trying to live up to expectations. When we say Amen, we look around for approval: "was that a good prayer?" We are distracted.
The Lord tells us "when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." In the secret, there is the focus, there is attention, there is the connection. He hears the words we say, even the words we aren't saying. This is the prayer of the heart. Prayer that can feel like the deepest moments of life. It's not because God can't hear us amidst others, but because our true self isn't speaking. It's in the secret place that the words can proceed from the depths of our heart, and also where we can listen to what God is saying to us.
First Wednesday of the Great Lent
Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
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Some time ago, when economic times were pretty rough, gas prices had skyrocketed, jobs were scarce, and things were in general disarray, a pastor made an announcement in church that they would be doing a collection of food items for a needy family in the parish who had been particularly hard hit. A young couple in the church was touched by the request and went home, looked through the fridge and decided to give a huge ham they had received as a gift, even though that was what they had been planning all week for their Sunday dinner.
The husband said to his slightly disappointed wife, ‘Honey, we were blessed to receive this, and if the pastor says someone needs help, we should help.’
And so the husband hurried over to church with ham in hand, dropped it off, then ran over to the store to pick up something to replace their Sunday dinner. He returned home, walked in the door only to see his beautiful wife in tears...
She saw him, smiled, and pointed over to the kitchen table, where lo' and behold, a large pile of food was, with that nice scrumptious ham sitting on the top. "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." God knows your needs. Present your worries and anxieties to Him. Let it be in His hands while you go and seek the Kingdom and His righteousness.
“Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth 'thrown in': aim at Earth and you will get neither.” - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 3.10
First Thursday of the Great Lent
Matthew 7:13-27 The Narrow Way
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits, you will know them. I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Build on the Rock
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was its fall.”
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Nobody ever said this was going to be easy. By now, you may have battled frustration, short-temper, anger, discouragement, dejection. Maybe old passions and habits have crept back up. Maybe goals or rules you had set a few days ago, you've already compromised on.
Leaving sin and building virtue are not easy. Doing the right thing often times is very difficult and probably won't make you popular. That's what makes it honorable.
You can win a gold medal at the Olympics or at a pawn shop. But only the former makes you a champion. You can earn an A by studying or by cheating. But only the former makes you an expert in the material.
The gate is narrow, and the path is difficult, not because God made it that way. It's difficult because we did. Sometimes it can seem like the thief on the right side on Golgotha found a shortcut into the Kingdom. But he didn't. The thief, when He asked Christ to remember him in His Kingdom, showed a profound humility and heartfelt faith in a seemingly hopeless situation. Our goal is not to do amazing things like the people in this passage whom the Lord said He never knew, but to acquire a heart capable of receiving our Lord in humility, faith, and courage.
Sometimes learning humility is going to be humiliating. Sometimes in order to teach you patience, God will give you opportunities to be patient. Sometimes in order to break a habit, you'll go through some withdrawal. If you are struggling, you are making progress. If you are doing the minimum to get by, looking for shortcuts, just trying to pass the class, you are probably on the wrong path. Find the narrow path, it's difficult because it leads to life.
First Friday of the Great Lent
Matthew 5:27-37 Adultery in the Heart
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right-hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Marriage Is Sacred and Binding 31 “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Jesus Forbids Oaths 33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
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A dear friend and neighbor once had to have a large tree near the street in his front yard cut down. The next day, there was a horrible smell in the front yard and it seemed to be coming from the stump of the tree. What had happened?
It wasn't the smell of cut wood, it was much worse than that. What had happened was the tree apparently had dug its roots into the sewer system. And so instead of rainwater, the tree had been drawing its nutrients from sewage. On the outside, it looked like a great tree, but little did we know that it was being destroyed from the inside out by the sewage that it had tapped into.
Lust is a sin that destroys from the inside out. As with most sins, it starts out small and grows and grows, eventually seeping into almost every area of our life. Many times unchastity is complemented with a lust for power as well. Especially when combined with Pride, these sins can cause great damage, hurt, and destruction.
If the tree had been a fruit tree... Sorry for going there. But, let's be real, we wouldn't tolerate even a miniscule amount of that in our fruit. Even a little sewage is too much. "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
It's time to cut the roots. It will be hard at first, but your roots will start digging deeper and deeper and in time will find a fresh spring of life that nourishes in purity, chastity, and holiness to eternity. It won't happen on your own strength, only by seeking refuge under the shadow of the Almighty who will win the victory for you.
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“Do not imagine that you will overwhelm the demon of fornication by entering into an argument with him. Nature is on his side and he has the best of the argument. So the man who decides to struggle against his flesh and to overcome it by his own efforts fights in vain. The truth is that unless the Lord overturns the house of the flesh and builds the house of the soul, the man wishing to overcome it has watched and fasted for nothing. Offer up to the Lord the weakness of your nature. Admit you incapacity and, without your knowing it, you will win for yourself the gift of chastity.”
St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Bodily fasting alone is not enough to bring about perfect self-restraint and true purity; it must be accompanied by contrition of heart, intense prayer to God, frequent meditation on the Scriptures, toil and manual labor. These are able to check the restless impulses of the soul and to recall it from its shameful fantasies. Humility of soul helps more than everything else, however, and without it, no one can overcome unchastity or any other sin.
-St John Cassian, Philokalia
First Saturday of the Great Lent
John 4:46-54 A Nobleman’s Son Healed
46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
49 The nobleman said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies!”
50 Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your son lives.” So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, “Your son lives!”
52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.
54 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
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This father has a singular goal. Any parent could empathize. His son was sick, at the point of death, and he needed a miracle.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he walked 25 miles uphill to get there. At a brisk pace, the journey would take him at least 8 hours. With a child at the point of death, that is a huge risk to take, to be away from his bedside for that long. This man must have had faith that Jesus could do something about it. He is a nobleman, he undoubtedly could have asked any number of people to go in his place. Even in his request to Jesus, you can sense his desperation, his courage, his persistence.
The nobleman believes that Jesus will heal his son, he is focused on that singular goal. Even later in the passage, when Jesus said his son lives, it says the nobleman believed the word that Jesus spoke. But, the Lord is calling him to a deeper belief without a "that" or a "the." Yes, the Lord can heal, but He has come to do much more than that.
Earlier in this chapter, Jesus is in Samaria and the people gather around Him and listen to His words and believe upon hearing them. These people believed not because of the miracles and the signs, but because of the words.
Our faith cannot be merely for our times of need. The Lord is merciful, compassionate, and gracious and He does answer our requests. But our faith can't be limited to only that. We have to go deeper. Looking at it again, we can also see the exasperation in Jesus' words. Why do we keep asking God to prove Himself to us? What about believing in truth just because it is true?
After finding out his son was healed, the nobleman left crisis mode and is able to zoom out and get there. "And he himself believed, and his whole household." It is a place where he and we are able to just say from the heart: "Lord, I believe."