Here is my sermon from Ash Wednesday 2012 based on the Biblical texts of Joel 2:1-2,12-17 and Matthew 6:1-6,16-21.
Have you ever wondered why we gather on Ash Wednesday and mark ourselves with the sign of the cross in Palm ash? Or – phrased as a “good Lutheran question” – What does this mean?
Many of us can recite “from dust you have come, to dust you shall return” –
We understand our very own finitude -
This morning, I heard a radio commentary from an 84-year-old veteran of the airwaves discussing his own “coming to terms” that more of his life is behind him than is in front of him. He rejected the idea that “84 is the new 54” (or maybe 64) and admitted that he squarely fits in the category of “elderly.” He then went on to discuss an 89-year-old woman who is planning to run a half marathon around Mt Kilimanjaro - so “old age” is not just “lying down to die” as many of you will attest.
Historically, we seem to have taken this Lenten season to be a time to beat ourselves up and wallow in our own darkness and sin – WOE IS ME – I AM MORTAL – I AM SINFUL – I DESERVE TO DIE
IS THIS REALLY WHAT GOD INTENDS FOR US? DOES GOD REALLY WANT US TO WALLOW IN OUR HUMAN CONDITION?
It seems unlikely that God brought Jesus into the world to SAVE us from our sin only to have us WALLOW in it like pigs in the mud!
In fact, this might be the very point of what Jesus is telling us in our Gospel lesson this evening:
Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them …
…and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. – 3 TIMES WE READ THIS!
So, where do we get this outward sign of the ashes? Why do we mark ourselves for the world to see?
Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures – Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, Jonah and In the New Testament Matthew and Luke – we are given accounts of ashes being associated with repentance. But we never find an account (you might expect it in Acts) of early worshippers marking themselves with Ashes the Wednesday that Lent begins.
Liturgical Historians point to the era of 960 to the 12th Century as the time when Ash Wednesday Liturgies can be documented. But these documented occurrences happen as a confluence of two practices of the early (4th Century) church.
One practice was the Order of Penitents …a time when individuals would go to the priest for confession of the “worst” sins and receive penance that would take some time to complete. Often this was done during the season of Lent and one who was in this process was marked with the ashen cross to indicate they should be “excused” from worship after the sermon and before Holy Communion.
This coincided with the practice of the Catechumenate of this era – when the season of Lent would have been a time for new believers to be immersed in the doctrine of the church. To learn the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments – so that when they were Baptized –usually at the Easter Vigil – they would know what they were committing to in becoming a Christ-follower!
For those that were not part of either of these groups – they would engage in a time of prayer and fasting on behalf of these two groups. To support them and be in community with them.
As time continued, the catechumenate faded away … families were baptizing children at a younger age and rather than Baptism being a sign of a fully-formed believer, it was an entry-rite into a lifetime of learning as a believer. The order of Penitents also faded away – but left behind were the remnants of those practices, the season of Lent beginning with Ash to mark the forehead of believers as they began to contemplate Christ’s death and sacrifice for our sin.
The ash seems to resonate with the prophet Joel who calls us to make a scene:
“Blow the Trumpet, sound the alarm”
WHY?
Because God says “RETURN TO ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART, with fasting, weeping, and mourning – for the LORD IS MERCIFUL, SLOW TO ANGER AND ABOUNDING IN STEADFAST LOVE.”
But Jesus reminds us that we do not make the scene to be seen –
“Remember why you are doing this,” says Jesus. “not so that others see you doing it, but because YOU NEED TO BE REMINDED.” (my paraphrase)
You need to turn from your sin, You need a physical sign of the dirtiness of your life – so that when you wash away the ashes, you are reminded of the waters of Baptism that wash you clean from your sin.
“ … and when you come to God giving alms, fasting, and praying – THE LORD WHO SEES WHAT YOU DO IN SECRET WILL REWARD YOU.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Luther might ask “What Does This Mean?”
We at Gloria Dei are asking “What in God’s Name am I doing HERE?” Tonight, Ash Wednesday, we are being given a physical reminder that we are indeed sinful creatures … but more importantly, as we wash away the ash, we are reminded of our baptism, that we are a MADE NEW in Jesus Christ.
Amen.
