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Yesterday, as I often do, I went to a text study with other area pastors, where we looked at the readings for the upcoming Sunday. Heads up, this week we get to hear about Jesus being tested by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days. But we will dive deeper into that story on Sunday at 10:30am.
Being that this is the first Sunday in a new church season (the season of Lent), naturally we also talked some about today, Ash Wednesday. We talked about the ashes being a signature and reminder of death. We talked about how the death we remember tonight in ourselves is deeply connected to Jesus’ death that we will remember 40 days from now on Good Friday. And, we talked about how putting ashes on your forehead seemingly goes against what Jesus instructs the disciples in the gospel lesson that we hear tonight (from Matthew 6).
[Jesus said to the disciples:] “And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort (or disfigure) their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you they have received their reward.” No sooner than Jesus talks about not distorting or disfiguring faces, will we turn around and put ash crosses on our foreheads this evening. However, before we get too far down that rabbit hole, there is a bigger understanding to be gained.
The Pharisees, the temple elites, would often boast their acts of holiness. They would make a show about their obedience to the laws of the Torah, as if practicing the convictions of their temple laws gave them status, power, or favor over others in God’s eyes. Jesus’ teaching conversely is uplifting that nothing could be further from the truth.
The truth is friends, holiness is not wrapped up in if we “obey enough rules in church” or if we “have a showy enough religion.” For Jesus, what you wore to church, or what position you sit or stand in to pray, or what church committee you serve on is not what’s important. For Jesus, it’s not important about “if we personally choose to be saved” or “personally choose to accept who Jesus is.” Jesus is who Jesus is, with or without what we think. And this is who Jesus is, the one who so loved you, and me, and all people that he became human, understood our life experience, died, and rose again that we too would have the promise of eternal life. The “reward” that Jesus talks about in this portion of Matthew 6 is the good news, that we didn’t choose Jesus. Jesus chose us. We aren’t saved because we decide to be, or because we act a certain way. We are saved because of the way of Jesus that ended in a cross and an empty tomb.
Now I’m going to go one step further with Ash Wednesday and these crosses that we will have marked on our foreheads. Not only is that ash cross a reminder of Jesus’ life giving love in the cross, it’s a reminder of our “dusty-ness.” Dust is a sign of death. Everything that dies decomposes and eventually becomes nothing more than material of the earth (dust). When we receive the mark of the ash cross on Ash Wednesday we are remembering in that moment several things: one, that we will die. Life in this capacity has an expiration date. And not only do we remember death, we remember all the ways in which we perpetuate death in our daily lives. We remember how we put to death the dignity of others. We remember our judgments and our failings. We remember the ways that we’ve turned from God’s call and ignored opportunities to love like Jesus. We remember that death is not only our last breath, but a way that we perpetuate in our broken nature every day…ouch!
BUT! In this ash cross we are again drawn to hope because again we are drawn to grace. Our dusty-ness, our death, even the ways that we perpetuate death, are all powerless to the cross. I’m reminded of the words in the old hymn, “In the Cross of Christ I Glory:”
“In the cross of Christ I glory, tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time. All the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.
When the woes of life o’er take me, hopes deceive, and fears annoy, never shall the cross forsake me; lo, it glows with peace and joy.”
So may you today find yourself in a place where you can remember your/you’re dust. May you find time and space to hear God’s promise that is yours, and your identity intertwined in the love of God. May you not find yourself receiving that ash cross on your forehead, not as a means of thinking of yourself as better than others, but because it’s a reminder and promise of grace. And that grace is extended yet again to all of us.
Blessings as we gather on Ash Wednesday,
Pastor Vern
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