Ash Wednesday – Year C Stuttgart Military Chapel March 1, 2017
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 Psalm 51:1-17 2 Corinthians 5:20b - 6:10 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Living a Holy Lent
The other day, someone asked when I was preaching next. When I told them about this service, she was surprised. “I thought only Catholics did Ash Wednesday.” “Well, no,” I replied. It’s the starting day of Lent. “Oh,” she said, “I thought only Catholics did that, too.”
I guess it’s a common misconception. The rise of non-liturgical Protestant Christianity places this service outside the norm of many peoples’ experience. And for several hundred years, it could be said that Roman Catholics had the corner on the Ash Wednesday market. But over the last 100 years, and especially in the last 25 years, the celebration of the Ash Wednesday rituals and the observance of a holy Lent have become especially important and meaningful to Protestant Christians from many traditions.
Whether you have been observing Lent for a long time or if this is your first Ash Wednesday service, it’s important to understand why this time has been set aside for self-reflection. For those of us who regularly observe the ebb and flow of the Christian year, we think of the seasons in the order they occur… Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. But the year developed as the needs of the Apostolic, mostly local, church gave way to the needs of a Church that was quickly growing outside of its original borders.
In the beginning, it was enough to celebrate every Sunday like it was a “little Easter.” But as more people were introduced to Jesus’ mission and his story, one Sunday a year was set aside as a celebration of the historical celebration of the resurrection. In the beginning, the faith was introduced through personal relationships. But as the Church grew in size and in organization, large groups of people wanted to be a part of the Church’s life and ministry. And so, a time of preparation was devised.[i]
The season of Lent was most often the time when those preparing for baptism would study and prepared spiritually to commit their whole lives to Christ. The forty days of Lent echo the great journeys found in scripture… 40 years in the desert, 40 days of rain, 40 days in the wilderness, all reflect the momentous nature of the great journey of Christian faith. Baptism would take place at sunrise on Easter Sunday, and the celebration of the resurrection would be the new member’s first day of new life in Christ.
As time passed, certain penitential behaviors were encouraged – fasting from food, prayer, giving of money to the poor, reconciliation and forgiveness from broken relationships – each of these was deemed important components in observing a Holy Lent. But it’s an interesting tell that when you hear that someone is observing Lent, you might be inclined to ask, “What are you giving up for Lent?”
I wonder if this preoccupation with the requirement to give up something doesn’t keep many from participating? Many of us feel badly enough about ourselves and our choices. We wonder if we will ever get this “faith” thing right. So, what would happen if we turned our thoughts in a different direction and looked at the Lenten season in a different way?
More than anything, I see these 40 days of Lent as a time to reflect on the fragileness of human life. Our relationships with God are not always what we or God desire. Of course, it’s possible that denying ourselves from earthly pleasures will help us to focus more on God. That message is certainly reflected in the Scriptures. Distilled to its bare-bones reality, Psalm 51 helps us to say, "I am sorry for all I have done and thought and said that has not honored you. I know it is because of your love for me that you forgive me, not because I deserve it."
Over the years, I have come to understand that it is not just our own sinfulness that we have come to confess. We also bring the sins of our own communities and societies. If we are honest with ourselves, we see the pain and despair in the world around us, and we often do little or nothing. There are lots of reasons: self-absorption with our own needs and pain… inabilities to recognize the experiences of others as valid and meaningful… paralyzing fear to step outside our own comfort zones and to enter into to another’s discomfort… and these are just a few.
In fact, services like this put into ritual form the action of confessing our personal and corporate sinfulness. By receiving ashes on our foreheads, we say, "I know that I am a sinner, and that my life is a mere second in God's time. Thank you, God for the time I have." By coming together, we ask, “Help us to work together to build your Kingdom, in spite of the obstacles we experience or perceive.”
My most memorable Lenten observances come when I balance between pious reflection on the state of my soul with how I am living out my faith in the world. I think that’s what Matthew’s gospel is trying tell us. We cannot get too swayed in either direction.
Whatever disciplines we follow for Lent, we have to practice them in the right spirit. We pray and fast and give to others in service to God, acknowledging God's love for us in light of Christ's sacrifice for us and for the whole world.
We love because God first loved us. And while none of us is immune to the temptations that separate us from God, we must remember that God's way is our way. And when we fall or fail, we have to pick ourselves up and be prepared for God to love and forgive us even more. We must never allow our sin to drive us to abandon the way of truth and life in Christ's name.
Christian pastor Jeff Manion wrote, “A remarkable life is built by taking a thousand unremarkable steps."[ii] Greatness in God’s kingdom is not built by the grand gesture, but by recognizing God's constant presence in our lives, producing in us the ability to live and to love in God's name.
That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our joy. It is our hope. And it’s why we’re here today.
Celebrating a Holy Lent from the words of Pope Francis
* Fast from hurting words and say kind words.
* Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.
* Fast from anger and be filled with patience.
* Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
* Fast from worries and have trust in God.
* Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
* Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
* Fast from bitterness and fill your hearts with joy.
* Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.
* Fast from grudges and be reconciled.
* Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.[iii]
Thanks be to God.
Peace, Deb
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