Daily Gospel Reflection for June 15, 2022

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Leslie Lynch

Today's Gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

In these readings, Jesus instructs us to conduct our personal relationship with God, and our good deeds, in secret. (This in no way diminishes our need for community in both faith and ministry.)

His disdain for hypocrites who trumpet their almsgiving, proclaim their prayers, and flaunt their fasting is clear. They have received their reward: public acknowledgement and accolades.

When I encounter teachings like this, I need to examine my own life. Today: Where am I a hypocrite? This is work I do not want to do! Let’s face it. Being seen and acknowledged feels pretty darn good, especially for women, whose work is largely invisible in the first place. This is what the world calls “self-validation,” though, and that is not what Jesus is calling us to do.

So what am I (are we) to do?

First, bring our shortcomings to God and lay them at His feet. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great start.

Second, emulate the Holy Family. Ponder (and pray) on the mysteries of God in our lives, like Mary. Quietly do the work God has set in front of us like Joseph (an almsgiving of sorts). Without fanfare, make small substitutions of virtue over vice (a fast from pride or gossip or any addiction to which we cling), following in the footsteps of Jesus’s forty-day fast.

Third, let joy be the fruit of our solitary prayer, our secret deeds, our unseen fasts. Joy, a public acknowledgement of all God has done for us. Joy, a fountain of God’s abundance spilling out and bathing others in His grace. Joy, the fruit of God’s mercy, a visible gift bestowed in response to invisible discipline.

This is what God wants others to see in us. Joy. Grace. Mercy. Jesus, always Jesus, and less of me.

Amen? Amen!

Ponder:

Am I brave enough to ask the Holy Spirit to show me where I am a hypocrite?

Pray:

Jesus, this is hard work, but with You, I can do it. Please open my eyes to my hypocrisy and give me the grace to change my heart, mind, and habits to more closely conform to You.

Click to tweet:
Joy—the fruit of our solitary prayer, our secret deeds, our unseen fasts. Joy—a public acknowledgement of all God has done for us; a fountain bathing others in God’s grace; the fruit of God’s mercy. #dailygospel

Copyright 2022 Leslie Lynch

Leslie Lynch lives near Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband and a rescued, feral-turned-sweetheart cat. She’s written three full-length novels: Hijacked, Unholy Bonds, and Opal’s Jubilee; and two novellas: Christmas Hope and Christmas Grace. She is an occasional contributor to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’s newspaper, The Criterion, and holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University. Learn more at www.leslielynch.com.