Matthew 6:5-8 – Close Your Door and Close Your Mouth

There’s a difference between religion and discipleship. Religion can easily become focused on what you do: rituals and activities. And far too often, the whole reason for these religious practices is to be noticed. Discipleship is different: it’s not about what you do, but who you are becoming. And discipleship, in the best sense, doesn’t give any thought being noticed. I was at a pastor’s meeting this week, and during our prayer time one of the ministers seemed to be preaching a sermon while the rest of us had our eyes closed. I’m not sure whom he was trying to convince: us, God, or himself. I don’t know this fellow very well, but I’m sure that he has a deep and abiding faith and is striving to live a life of discipleship. But his lengthy, “preachy” prayer sounded more religious than faithful. (And I acknowledge that I’m at risk of sounding judgmental here. That’s not my point: only to share an example of the danger that we all face.)

Whether it’s the person who shouts “praise the Lord” at the drop of a hat, or catching Christian bumper stickers, there are lots of examples around us of religion that seeks to be noticed. Sharing our faith and reaching out to others in Christ’s name is certainly part of our Christian call. But it can easily become a way to draw attention to ourselves, instead of pointing to God. There is a time and place for sharing and showing faith. But this passage reminds us that there is a time and place for not doing so.

In order to understand the difference, Jesus directs our attention to the hypocrites: people who are different from the way they show themselves to be. What they say and how they act isn’t what they believe and think and feel. Put simply, they show a faith that doesn’t exist. Jesus tells us not to be like them: but in what way? He doesn’t simply say “don’t be a hypocrite,” although that’s certainly a good lesson for us to learn. He could be telling us to have a genuine faith, and to let our prayers reflect who we really are. Of course, this is exactly what we should be doing. But Jesus’ point here is different. He didn’t say, “don’t be a hypocrite;” he said “don’t like the hypocrites,” or “don’t act as the hypocrites act.”

So what is it that hypocrites do? How do they act? The answer is simple: they draw attention to themselves. Have you ever met a quiet hypocrite: one who just sat back quietly? Probably not: the whole point to being a hypocrite is to make people think that you’re someone different from who you really are! And that takes a lot of work. If you want to be a hypocrite, you’ve got convince people that you’re the person you’re pretending to be. And you can’t do that by sitting in the corner quietly. Hypocrites focus on their appearance, to make sure others notice them. So when Jesus tells us not to act like hypocrites, he’s telling us more than to be real and genuine in our faith: to let our faults and weaknesses be noticeable. In addition to that, Jesus tells us not to worry about what we look like, what others think of us, to see if they’ll notice us. He tells us to do the exact opposite: live your faith quietly, and don’t show it to others.

“But,” you may object, “What about being witnesses? Aren’t we supposed to share our faith, and tell others the good news? Aren’t we supposed to be examples and role models of what the Christian life looks like?” The answer is simple and emphatic: yes! But then we have to ask ourselves another question: what is it that you are modeling, or witnessing to? Perhaps you’re thinking, “I want my family and my co-workers to see my example of faith.” If you are, then what you’re modeling, what you’re being an example of, is showcase Christianity. And that’s exactly what Jesus complained about! However, if you’re thinking “I want to serve the Lord, to dedicate all I have to him, and to seek his guidance in all things,” then your life will look very different. When you’re seeking God and living for him, your example will come naturally. You don’t have to make sure people get the point. When you do, the point gets lost. If it’s real, it will make itself known without any extra work on your part.

There are some people, many people, in our church who are serving God devotedly, and whose faith is powerful and obvious. But if you tell them that, they get embarrassed. They’ll make excuses and disagree with you. They are examples of the faith without even trying. But there are other people that I encounter who want to make sure that I know how faithful and dedicated they are. The more they talk, the more I wonder if it’s God that they’re dedicated to, or if it’s their own reputations. I frequently meet people like this at what I call “rent-a-preacher” funerals. From time to time one of the local funeral directors will call and ask me to conduct a funeral service for someone who has no church connections at all, but still wants a “Christian burial.” It can be kind of awkward to spend time with a family that I don’t know at all during one of their most difficult times. But I think it’s awkward for them to have me there as well: I’m sort of a living reminder to them that they’re not church-going people. So sometimes they’ll try to convince me that they are. The more they try, the more obvious it is that God, and God’s church, really aren’t part of their lives. One of my favorites was the time when a grieving family member said to me, “My favorite book in the Bible is Psalms. I forget the name of my favorite psalm, but it’s the one where Jesus promises that he’ll always be with us.” (If you don’t get it, think about it for a minute and it’ll come to you.)

Jesus reminds us to do two things when praying.
1st: Close the door: don't display your prayer to the world.
2nd: Close your mouth: don’t babble on and on when you’re praying.

Some people worry about using the right words when they pray. As I’m working with people to coach them in their prayer lives, I hear the common complaint they “don’t know how to pray.” What they generally mean is that they don’t know the right words to say. They rely on devotional guidebooks and the words of others to lift up prayers for them. Now prayer books and devotions have their place: there are many wonderful resources to direct us to God. In fact, one of our Year of Prayer spiritual exercises was to use some of these prayers on a regular basis. But it becomes a problem when we think that these wonderful prayers are the only way to pray, and that if you can come up with a prayer like that on your own, then you don’t know how to pray.

Look at it this way: imagine you’re trying to express your love to someone in your family, or to that special someone who’s come into your life. Hallmark and company have some wonderful products out there that can give you the perfect words to say. But would you count on them alone to do it for you? Would you go up to your loved one, hand them a card, say “here ya go,” and walk away? No! Your own words, no matter how goofy and weird they may be, will mean so much more. The same thing is true when it comes to prayer: let your words be real. Don’t worry about sounding "churchy" by sprinkling a bunch of thee's & thou’s into what you’re saying. A version of this that I personally find annoying is what my seminary president called the “evangelical just” prayer. It goes something like this: “Lord, I just want to thank you for saving my soul. I just want you to bless everyone.” Just?! Is that all?! Another version is when the pray-er has to say God’s name over and over. “Father God, I just want to thank you, Father, for all that you’ve done in my life, O Father. Holy God, I worship you, Lord Jesus, for your grace and your mercy, O God.” Are they worried that God will quit paying attention, or that they’ll forget who they’re talking to?

The point that Jesus makes here is very similar to the one we find in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7. When you pray, allow time for silence. Don't fill your prayers with words, and prattle on just to fill the space between you and God. Take time to listen, not just speak. While prayer is an expression of our deeply intimate relationship with God, it ought also to demonstrate our respect for him: our sense of his place in the world, and in our lives. If we clutter our prayers we what we want to unload on him, then we lose our sense of awe and wonder for the great Lord of the universe. If we truly remember who God is, it may be a good idea to listen to him sometimes.

And that's what this passage is all about. Close your door: don't turn your prayer life into showcase to display to the world. And close your mouth: recognize whose presence you're in. Let your humility guide your prayers, and don't try to impress other people, or God.