SermonStudio
Right rituals for the wrong reasons
Prayer
Contemporary Lectionary Prayers
Cycle B
Gospel Note:
In these sayings Jesus uses three common rituals -- almsgiving,
prayer and fasting -- as examples of rituals that can be done
publicly for the wrong reasons (e.g., human approval, self-
aggrandizement) rather than privately, in sincere devotion to
God. The verses that punctuate and frame these examples (6:1, 4,
6, 18, 19-21) suggest that there are heavenly rewards for rituals
rightly done.
Liturgical Color:
Purple or black
Suggested Hymns:
O Lord, Throughout These Forty Days
In these sayings Jesus uses three common rituals -- almsgiving,
prayer and fasting -- as examples of rituals that can be done
publicly for the wrong reasons (e.g., human approval, self-
aggrandizement) rather than privately, in sincere devotion to
God. The verses that punctuate and frame these examples (6:1, 4,
6, 18, 19-21) suggest that there are heavenly rewards for rituals
rightly done.
Liturgical Color:
Purple or black
Suggested Hymns:
O Lord, Throughout These Forty Days