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ministry, but as servants of God, we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
-2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10
It’s a backward day, this weird Ash Wednesday. We begin our Lenten journey—a path that takes us to Easter’s resurrection dawn—and yet we begin this path to eternal life at the end… with death. But isn’t that the point? Christ’s love is turning all things around, all things upside down. We hear this in our reading, “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”
In this reading today, Paul is writing to a church that is mired in selfishness, begging them to live into the promise of the resurrection. This Ash Wednesday, we are being called to turn our lives upside down, dumping everything that holds us back from living in response to God’s grace into the dust of death. Let these things die, and see that we will find life here and now. “We are treated…as dying, and see—we are alive”
On this day, I’m reminded of the final words attributed to German Pastor and Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer before his execution by the Nazis. Bonhoeffer said, “This is the end… For me, the beginning of life.” We have a God who turns death into life, and even turns us into disciples. The life of discipleship is never promised to be easy. Paul makes that abundantly clear. But in this way of Jesus we will find abundance. In our humility, we will find that we possess everything we truly need. This call to live into new life today isn’t something that can be put off or even confined to a 40 day season. “See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!”
“Remember that you are dust, and to the dust you will return.” We have nothing to fear from these words. They are said as a cross is traced on our heads, a reminder that God in Christ Jesus has already gone to the place of death that it might have no hold over us. Throughout this season we will fix our eyes on the cross of Christ, knowing what God accomplished there, that we might live abundantly NOW and follow Christ in hope and not fear. “We are treated…as dying, and see—we are alive”
Let us pray.
God of great reversals, bring us today from death to life, from despair to hope, from loneliness to community. Fill us with your righteousness and your peace that we may live as your people and trust in your grace; through Jesus Christ our savior and Lord. Amen.
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