Secret Service

This is my sermon text for my Ash Wednesday service. I used the Matthew 6 text as my focal point.

When I was growing up, I had all of the career dreams that I think most young boys have. I wanted to play right field for the Detroit Tigers, just like my hero, Al Kaline. I wanted to play tight end for the Lions, and catch passes like Charlie Sanders. Unfortunately, I could not hit a baseball or catch a football with any regularity, so I needed to seek other employment ventures.

Law enforcement was one of the things that held my interest for a while. But I wasn’t interested in being a police officer; I wanted a special type of position. I was interested in being a member of the Secret Service. I have no idea what caught my attention, other than during one of the presidential campaigns, a candidate came to my high school. Before they arrived, the school was cleared and practices were cut short. But I left my book bag in my football locker, and, without thinking, ran down to get it.

That’s when I first met the men in black suits who talked into their sleeves. I was able to convince them of my über-nerdiness by explaining what homework I had to do out of each of the books in the bag they were going through. There was something about what they did, protecting the President, Vice-President and their families, getting to go wherever they went, and preparing the locations and making them secure. Something about that intrigued me. I don’t think I really thought what “taking a bullet” for someone meant, but just the idea of serving, always being there, but never really being noticed, proved interesting for a while.

A few years later, President Reagan was shot, and I learned what REALLY goes into that job. I began to explore other means of employment. But still, the idea of serving in secret, or at least not in the spotlight, has always stuck with me. Today, I am asking you to join me in secret service.

No, we don’t have a security problem. There have not been any threats made. Worse of all, I don’t have any of the microphones & earpieces so we can talk into our sleeves.

But I do want to ask you to serve in secret; because that is what Jesus is calling us to do in today’s Gospel text.

This part of Matthew’s Gospel is from the Sermon on the Mount, and the verses we skip, 7 through 15, are centered on the Lord’s Prayer. This is the lesson always appointed for Ash Wednesday, and always seems out of place because it talks about not drawing attention to yourself, while you have a cross drawn in ash put on your forehead.

But what Jesus is telling his followers to avoid is not to being in public, but why you are doing what you are doing. What he speaks out about: prayer, fasting and giving to the church are all good and right things to do. But your motivation is what Jesus warns about. Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them.

It is not displaying our piety, or what is also called our righteousness – our living out receiving our Lord’s Love, going out reflecting God’s grace and goodness, that Jesus says not to do. It is practicing piety SO WE CAN BE SEEN.

Jesus calls us not to do something worthwhile for the wrong reasons. A touchdown is worth 6 points whether you dance, leap into the stands or hand the ball to an official.

When you pray, God hears you whether you pray from the privacy of your heart, in the silence of your breath, or whether you speak them aloud. You don’t have to shout.

When you fast, if you chose to give up something, use that time or those resources to get closer to God. Don’t do it to show how strong you are, and don’t do it to tell others how strong you and your faith is.

When you give, give of yourself and your gifts. Don’t give to impress others or to show off. Give to God in thankfulness for the blessings you have, not to show off.

God sees all that we do, and knows what is in our hearts. Jesus is telling us that we have a captive audience with our Creator. We have God’s attention. We don’t need to draw any one else’s attention to us.

You only notice Secret Service agents when something goes wrong. The rest of the time, you know they are there; they are doing their job, but they blend into the background. Their job is not to draw attention to themselves, but to protect and serve. We can use them as a model for our service to God as well.