Ash Wednesday 2010

All of my reflections on Ash Wednesday came out this year in the form of a sermon. So here it is! Also, if you are looking for a Lenten online devotional, you can visit our church website: www.umcmemorial.com. and click on "Lent Devotions 2010" to read the daily post. Our church members always work so hard on these!

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Ah, Ash Wednesday. The time of year that we gather in our humanness to embark on the journey of Lent, to journey with Christ to the cross and eventually to the empty tomb on Easter morning. That day that we gather as people willing to look at ourselves for who and what we are, to confess our sins, to seek forgiveness, to mourn for our own faults, and to acknowledge that we are but dust, and will one day return to the earth as such. The day once a year that we fully acknowledge our mortality and our desperate need for the grace and mercy of God. When I tell people I have just met that I am a pastor, one of the most common questions I get about Christian holy days is about Ash Wednesday. What is it and why do you Christians insist on parading around all day with ashes on your forehead? And then from those who don’t understand completely what Ash Wednesday is will say, “You Christians with your outward signs of being holy- must you show the world that you’ve gone to church that day?”

And certainly today’s scripture wouldn’t help in defending our intentions to be godly people, when Jesus is quick to point out that the truly righteous person does his or her fasting, alms giving, and praying in secret so that only God sees the heart and intention of it all. It is those who parade their godly deeds for all to see that must step back and examine their true intentions. Instead of bragging about our good deeds, instead of boasting about how much money we give, instead of complaining aloud that we are hungry from fasting, we should do these things in secret as a way to honor God, Jesus says. Otherwise, we are focusing on the wrong reward of human praise. If we do these things in secret, then it is God alone who show us God’s gratefulness and will reward us as we store up these treasures in heaven. So, I don’t know about you all, but does anyone else find it ironic that this text is one that has been chosen for today of all days, Ash Wednesday, when we will be parading around for the rest of the day with marks on our foreheads? Jesus has just told us to do these holy deeds in secret, and now we will walk out of this place with outward Christian signs on our bodies for all to see.

So given what lesson we have learned from Jesus in this scripture, the last thing we might want to do is to receive the sign of the cross on our foreheads for all to see today. But wait…if we really stop and think about what our ashes stand for, we might have different feelings on this matter. We must be quick to point out to our friend who inquires about the mysterious mark on our forehead that our ashes are not signs of our holiness, but are signs of our brokenness- our need for God’s grace, mercy, and love. That this mark is our wake up call to repentance, to acknowledge our humanness and sin, and a sign that we are a forgiven people. That this mark reminds us all that we will someday perish, but that God’s love remains. So this scripture reading for today tells us to do those holy deeds in secret, but perhaps it is also telling us in a round about way that the ashes we receive today, the first day of Lent, are our little marks of forgiveness, our signs of dirtyness, our little “I’m sorry” marks, that we will show to the world. So anyone who does ask will know that Christians know that we are not perfect people, that we are broken just like everyone else, and that we need God all the more because of it.

So today, the question is, what will your ashes stand for? Your need for God? Your own mortality? Your need for God’s grace and mercy? Your longing for a fresh start? Your wanting of a deeper understanding of God’s love? Perhaps they will stand for those things you would like to say “I’m sorry” for? Will the cross upon your head remind you that you are God’s alone, and that in your baptism you were marked with God’s grace as a child of God? Will they stand for death in general, perhaps your thoughts are with someone in your life who has died, and you bear these ashes for them as you mourn?

Interestingly enough, today, this day that we acknowledge our own mortality and mourn our losses, would have been my middle school best friend’s 27th birthday. Her name was Jamie. (Bloggers, read more about her here) She died tragically a few years ago, leaving two young children and her husband behind. We had actually lost touch over the years, but had gotten back into touch and looked forward to getting reacquainted and possibly even planning a visit in the near future. I found out after I hadn’t heard from her in a few months, that she had died. I was obviously shocked and upset, sad that I wouldn’t have that chance to get to know her again, and I grieved especially for her family, her children, and the times that they would never get to have. I also realized that the times we had together were very special and the friendship we shared meant the world to me. For only the second time in my young life, death was made close and real to me. My mortality loomed over my head like the ashes that we will bear on our foreheads today. Ashes as personal signs of mourning loved ones, of mourning for those times when we have fallen away from God, ashes as that reminder that our lives are but a fleeting breath in the big scheme of this world.

My grandmother always reminds me when I visit her that when she dies, she wants to be cremated- this is very important to her. When I ask her why, she tells me that she doesn’t want to be fussed over, doesn’t want her body to take up space anywhere, that she wants to be given back to the earth in some way. Writer Anne Lamott has a great description of ashes- she points out that if you have ever held the ashes of a loved one who has died, you know that ashes are tricky. They are their own unique substance. And when you go to spread them somewhere important to the person who has died- they don’t get caught in the wind as easily as you might hope, they cling to your hands, get stuck in your hair and clothing, they are sticky, persistent, and they won’t let go. They have a metallic way to them, yet a feeling of dirt, too. They remind us that our lives, like ashes, are disorderly, mysterious, imperfect, and blow whichever way the wind blows. Tricky things, ashes. As our bodies decay and become ashes, we stick to the people we love, we stick to the earth itself, we become part of it all, and we never really let go…just as God never lets go of us. Just as God accepts us as our dirty, sticky selves, just as God forgives and loves us as we bear our sins and our mortality for all to see in the form of ashes.

So as we all make our way to the front this afternoon to receive the sign of the cross in the form of ashes, those sticky, dirty, clinging ashes, what will yours stand for? We will receive an outward mark of our humanness, our mortality, our desperate need for God’s grace on our heads today, but what will be going on in your heart? Ash Wednesday is the beginning of our Lenten journey- our first step on the journey with our Lord and Savior as we walk with him to his atoning death on the cross. Our ashes tell us to prepare ourselves. To prepare for a time of prayer, a time of repentance, a time to accept forgiveness and to forgive, a time of fasting- a time to give something up that we enjoy, something that we take for granted. A time to accept God’s sacrifice for us once again as we stand in the mystery and awe of God’s amazing love. So even though we bear outward signs today, our hearts will tell a different story. Jesus challenges us today to keep our individual acts of piety between ourselves and God. Even though we also hold onto the importance of sharing God’s love with others, we also acknowledge our individual opportunities to seek God for ourselves. Today, Ash Wednesday, is about that personal relationship with God. Today is about that need to connect with your Creator, to accept forgiveness, and to pray that we might be made whole once again through God’s love so that we might be better equipped to share God’s love in the world. Today is about taking that time to slow down, to reconnect, to consider what part of yourself you might devote to God during Lent. What will you give up- perhaps something that keeps you from spending time with God? I threatened to give up Facebook last year, but we’ll see… :)This is the time to ask what you will do to recommit your life to Christ. How will you express your appreciation for God’s unconditional love? What will you say when someone asks, “What is that dirt on your forehead?”

And even though today is about remembering that we are but ashes- those sticky, dirty, clinging, and persistent ashes that remind us of our brokenness, we are also marked and sealed with God’s love. We are marked with a reminder that we might be only ashes, but God loves and forgives us anyway. We are presented with the acknowledgment that we will someday become ashes, but that we have a purpose here on this earth, and it is up to us to make the best use of our time here, to serve God, to love and accept others. Our ashes tell us that we are accepted, made whole, and are worthy of God’s love despite our sinfulness. They are a reminder of what Jesus Christ has done and will do for us once again during this holy season- that death is imminent, but that his victory over death will have the final word.

So as we come forward today to accept the mark upon us that symbolizes so much, to admit our faults, to accept forgiveness, to acknowledge our need for God’s love, I invite you to think about what your ashes will stand for during this journey called Lent. We are all on this journey together, but we all are in need of different things, we all have our own obstacles to overcome, we all have our personal prayers to lift to God. Come forward with an open heart, willing to receive this mark of brokenness, ready to admit that we are not perfect, ready to accept that we have a long way to go. But also come with the knowledge that God will be faithful in his promises, his steadfast love, and his unfailing grace and mercy. Wear your ashes with humility today, knowing what all they stand for, and be ready and willing to answer the question, “What do your ashes stand for?” Amen.