Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 6:2-4

"When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee." — Matthew 6:2-4 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: Above, the Lord had spoken of righteousness in general. He now pursues it through its different parts.¹

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He opposes three chief virtues—alms, prayer, and fasting—to three evil things against which the Lord undertook the war of temptation. For He fought for us in the wilderness against gluttony, against covetousness on the mountain, and against false glory on the temple. Alms scatters, opposing the covetousness which heaps up; fasting opposes gluttony, which is its contrary; and prayer opposes false glory. Since all other evil things come from evil, this one alone comes from good; therefore, it is not overthrown but is actually nourished by good, and has no remedy that can prevail against it but prayer alone.²

Pseudo-Ambrose: The sum of all Christian discipline is contained in mercy and piety, for which reason He begins with almsgiving.³

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The trumpet stands for every act or word that is intended to display our works. For instance, giving alms only if we know that someone else is watching, or at the request of another, or to a person in a position to repay us; and, unless these conditions are met, not giving at all.

Indeed, even if alms are given in a secret place with the intention of being considered praiseworthy, then the trumpet is sounded.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Thus, what He says, Do not sound a trumpet before you, refers to what He had said above, Take heed that you do not your righteousness before men.

St. Jerome: He who sounds a trumpet before him when he gives alms is a hypocrite. For this reason, He adds, as the hypocrites do.

Isidore of Seville: The name "hypocrite" is derived from the appearance of those on stage who are disguised in masks, variously colored according to the character they represent—sometimes male, sometimes female—to deceive the spectators while they perform in the plays.⁴

St. Augustine of Hippo: Just as the hypocrites (a word meaning "one who feigns"), by impersonating the characters of other men, act parts that are not naturally their own—for he who impersonates Agamemnon is not really Agamemnon, but feigns to be so—similarly in the Churches, whoever in his whole conduct desires to seem what he is not, is a hypocrite. He feigns himself to be righteous but is not really so, since his only motive is the praise of men.

Glossa Ordinaria: In the words, in the streets and villages, He points out the public places they selected; and in the words, that they may receive honor of men, He points out their motive.⁵

St. Gregory the Great: It should be known that there are some who wear the dress of sanctity but are not able to attain the merit of perfection. Yet they must in no way be numbered among the hypocrites, because it is one thing to sin from weakness and another to sin from deceitful pretense.⁶

St. Augustine of Hippo: And such sinners receive from God, the Searcher of hearts, no other reward than the punishment for their deceitfulness. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.⁷

St. Jerome: A reward not from God, but from themselves, for they receive the praise of men, which was the very reason they practiced their virtues.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This refers to what He had said above, Otherwise you shall have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. He goes on to show them that they should not give their alms as the hypocrites do, but teaches them how they should do them.

St. John Chrysostom: Let not your left hand know what your right hand does, is said as an extreme expression, as if to say, "If it were possible for you not to know it yourself, and for your very hands to be hidden from your sight, that is what you should strive for most."

Pseudo-Chrysostom: The Apostles, in the book of the Constitutions, interpret it this way: The right hand is the Christian people who are at Christ's right hand; the left hand is all the people who are on His left hand. He means, then, that when a Christian gives alms, the unbeliever should not see it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But according to this interpretation, it would be no fault to seek to please the faithful; and yet we are forbidden to set as the goal of any good work the pleasing of any kind of person. Yet if you want people to imitate your actions that may be pleasing to them, they must be done before unbelievers as well as believers.

If, according to another interpretation, we take the left hand to mean our enemy, and that our enemy should not know when we give our alms, why did the Lord Himself mercifully heal men when the Jews were standing around Him? And how then must we deal with our enemy himself according to that precept, If your enemy is hungry, feed him (Proverbs 25:21)?

A third interpretation is ridiculous: that the left hand signifies the wife. It suggests that because women are accustomed to be more frugal with the family purse, the husband's charitable giving should be kept secret from his wife to avoid domestic strife.

But this command is addressed to women as well as to men. What, then, is the left hand from which women are told to conceal their alms? Is the husband also the left hand of the wife? Since they are commanded to enrich each other with good works, it is clear they ought not to hide their good deeds from one another. Nor should one commit theft in order to serve God.

Even if, in some cases, something must be done secretly out of consideration for the weakness of another person—though it is not unlawful—it is clear from the context of the entire passage that the wife cannot be what is meant by the "left hand" here.

Rather, what is condemned in hypocrites is that they seek the praise of men, and this is what you are forbidden to do. The "left hand," therefore, seems to signify the desire for human praise, while the "right hand" denotes the intention of fulfilling God's commands.

Therefore, whenever a desire to gain honor from people mixes with the conscience of one who is giving alms, that is the "left hand" knowing what the "right hand"—the pure conscience—is doing. So, Let not your left hand know what your right hand does means, "Do not let the desire for human praise mix with your conscience."

Our Lord forbids the "left hand" (the desire for praise) from acting alone even more strongly than He forbids it from mixing with the works of the "right hand." The purpose of all this is shown when He adds, that your alms may be in secret. This means your good conscience alone—which no human eye can see nor words can describe, though many false things are said about many people—is what matters.

Your good conscience is enough for you to deserve your reward, if you seek that reward from Him who alone can see your conscience. This is why He adds, And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Many Latin copies add the word "openly."ⁱ

Pseudo-Chrysostom: For it is impossible that God should leave any good work of man in obscurity; instead, He makes it known in this world and glorifies it in the next, because it is the glory of God. Just as the Devil, likewise, makes evil manifest, in which is shown the strength of his great wickedness.

But God truly makes every good deed public only in that world where the blessings are not common to the righteous and the wicked. Therefore, for whomever God shows favor there, it will be clear that it was as a reward for his righteousness. But the reward of virtue is not made manifest in this world, where both the bad and the good share similar fortunes.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But in the Greek copies, which are earlier, we do not have the word "openly."

St. John Chrysostom: If, therefore, you desire spectators for your good deeds, behold, you have not merely Angels and Archangels, but the God of the universe.

1. Serm. in Mont., ii, 2
2. Hom. xv
3. Comm. in Tim. 4, 8
4. Etym. x. ex Aug. Serm.
5. non occ.
6. Mor., xxxi, 13
7. Serm. in Mont., ii, 2