Ash Wednesday
Beloved in Christ, Lent has arrived. We are gathered here to celebrate our deliverance from sin and death through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lent is the season of preparation for the great celebration of Easter, the means by which we renew our life in the Paschal mystery.
We begin our Lenten journey by acknowledging our need for repentance. Now, I want to say here that the notion of ‘repentance’ is a foreign and misconstrued one in our modern culture. The word has been deadened in its familiarity. And thus, it can sound like one of those empty and cavernous theological words that we still keep around the church for some reason. Or, because of the repeated misuse of the word, many think that repentance means to say you’re sorry to God, whom you have offended, so that God might forgive you for your sins.
But, no… See, that’s not the way it works.
Penetance - or repentance - is not the thing we do in order to GAIN forgiveness from God. Rather, authentic repentance happens to us when we know that we HAVE been forgiven.
We don’t do repentance.
Rather, God REPENTS us and turns our hearts outward in love toward the world.
See, if we’re not sure we’ve been forgiven, we won’t feel safe enough to be honest about our shortcomings. But when we know that God knows everything about us… Knows every action before it takes place… Knows every thought before we think it… And, yes, is hurt and saddened by our sin… But forgives us even on our worst of days… Well, we can be honest in our self-examination and truly experience the grace on offer. The spiritual cleansing will be far more complete and we will be far more ready to live into the new life on offer for us in the Resurrection hope of Easter.
And though the resurrection has happened,
and though you ARE forgiven,
in the church, we go through the motions of “not yet.” Before we get to Easter's bright and happy resurrection, we must first deal with the ugly truth of Lent, which is that it was and is you and I who hung Jesus on the cross. Even though you and I were not there 2000 years ago, we effectively crucify Jesus whenever we hurt our friends, neighbors, and family members. We effectively crucify Jesus in all the ways we harm nature and make it more and more unlivable for future generations. We effectively crucify Jesus whenever we talk poorly to God’s holy creation that looks back at us in the mirror.
Yes, before we get to Easter, it behooves us to take a stark look at our mortal selves to see just how deep God’s forgiveness goes.
So… In the spirit of this kind of fully forgiven penitence, in Lent, we name those things which damage us and others for what they really are,
and we open ourselves
to the One whose love knows no boundaries
and whose mercy is demonstrated to us
in the life of Jesus Christ.
By taking an honest look at our lives, and repenting of our foolishness;
by praying quietly
but with full hearts;
by letting go of those things that harm us and by taking on works of love for others; by reading and feasting on God's Word, we observe a holy Lent,
and prepare ourselves for the passion of Holy Week
and the joy of Easter.
Before I close, I want to share two blessings with you from one of my favorite modern-day spiritual writers, Jan Richardson:
Blessing the Dust
All those days
you felt like dust,
like dirt,
as if all you had to do
was turn your face
toward the wind
and be scattered
to the four corners
or swept away
by the smallest breath
as insubstantial—
did you not know
what the Holy One
can do with dust?
This is the day
we freely say
we are scorched.
This is the hour
we are marked
by what has made it
through the burning.
This is the moment
we ask for the blessing
that lives within
the ancient ashes,
that makes its home
inside the soil of
this sacred earth.
So let us be marked
not for sorrow.
And let us be marked
not for shame.
Let us be marked
not for false humility
or for thinking
we are less
than we are
but for claiming
what God can do
within the dust,
within the dirt,
within the stuff
of which the world
is made
and the stars that blaze
in our bones
and the galaxies that spiral
inside the smudge
we bear.
====
Rend Your Heart
To receive this blessing,
all you have to do
is let your heart break.
Let it crack open.
Let it fall apart
so you can see
its secret chambers,
the hidden spaces
where you have hesitated
to go.
Your entire life
is here, inscribed whole
upon your heart’s walls:
every path taken
or left behind,
every face you turned toward
or turned away,
every word spoken in love
or in rage,
every line of your life
you would prefer to leave
in shadow,
every story that shimmers
with treasures known
and those you have yet
to find.
It could take you days
to wander these rooms.
Forty, at least.
And so let this be
a season for wandering,
for trusting the breaking,
for tracing the rupture
that will return you
to the One who waits,
who watches,
who works within the rending
to make your heart
whole.
