Ash Wednesday, Year A

Ashes have long been used by God’s people for a variety of purposes. In the Old Testament, ashes were used as an expression of sorrow. The ashes themselves were sprinkled on the head, even when wearing a head covering. The more ashes on your head, the greater your sorrow. Ashes “could also accompany other expressions of sorrow, such as the tearing of clothes, crying out loud, and fasting...” [Douglas Estes, “Ashes,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).]

Ashes also suggest cleansing and renewal. They were once used as a cleansing agent when soap was not available. On Ash Wednesday the ashes have sometimes been understood as a penitential substitute for water as a sign of Baptism. Ashes are a remnant of something that has been burned and destroyed, and so they remind us of death. But they are also meant to remind us of renewal. Ancient farmers used to burn their fields in the spring to destroy the old and prepare for the new. Our modern Christian practice of marking a cross on the forehead using ashes goes back well before Medieval times. But it has its roots going back all the way to the very beginnings of our faith.

And with this act of imposing ashes on our foreheads, we begin a new season of the church year: the season of Lent. This entire season is about repentance and renewal. The very word “lent” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word that means springtime. It is a “holy springtime of the soul, a time for preparation, planting, and growth.” (Pfattiecher, Manual on the Liturgy, pp. 307-308) I don’t know if you noticed, but after we all had received the ashes, we concluded that lengthy confession, and I spoke a plea to all of us and to God for true repentance. There was no “absolution” or forgiveness declared. We will save that for Maundy Thursday. That means this whole period of time between tonight and that Thursday in Holy Week is a time of penitence and reflection. (ibid., p. 309)

I very much appreciate the image of the farmer burning his field to destroy the old and prepare for the new. That is a wonderful way to picture a Lenten journey. I think it’s more than just giving up something for Lent. Please don’t get me wrong: I commend those who *do* give up something for Lent… It’s an act of discipline, and it’s certainly a “fast”, which certainly reminds us of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the wilderness after his Baptism. But I want to think of Lenten discipline as pursuing something which will help my faith. Here’s what I mean:

I know many people give up something like chocolate for Lent. If chocolate is something that dominates your thoughts and cravings, but you give that up for 40 days so that you can appreciate what Jesus gave up, spend more time focused on prayer and the reading of Scripture, then I 100% support this kind of a fast. But what happens on Easter morning? Do you dive head-first into the basket full of sugary yummies and gorge yourself on the chocolate you’ve missed for 5 weeks? Have you grown in your faith?

In recent years, several mentors have shown me that this period should be spent pursuing that which helps me grow in my faith. Maybe it’s giving something up…sure. But maybe it’s starting something that I haven’t been doing. For instance: maybe I have only been reading my Bible once a week outside of Sunday worship. So now, I will set aside 10 minutes a day to read my Bible every day during Lent. Or maybe I will do something new like serving at the soup kitchen, or helping at the food pantry to live out the commandment to love my neighbor.

For me, personally, I’m going to take this season of Lent and really focus on the 3rd Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. I’m sorry to say that I’ve been really disobedient regarding this commandment, and I’m going to make this change in my life over the next 40 days. I would invite all of you to consider your own practice here also. The very first thing I’m going to do is this: I’m not going to do anything on Sunday that would cause someone else to have to work. So, no shopping, no going out to eat. (This does not include church work, FYI. “Holy” means set apart for God and His purposes.) My family and I have been talking about this, and we’ve agreed to do this together. It will take the whole household, and it’s important. Please pray for us as we discipline ourselves. If you decide to take this on, I’d be interested to hear how it turns out for you and your household.

The next 40 days remind us of the journey our Lord took on his way to the cross. We know how that journey ends. It was our sin and disobedience that made that journey necessary in the first place. So we take this time to reflect on that. We look inwardly at ourselves - how’s my life of faith? Where could I improve? What sins do I struggle with? What could I do better? How can I grow in my faith? How can I walk closer with God?

As you look around the sanctuary, I hope you’ve noticed a few differences in here. During Lent, we remove a few things. There is no embroidery on the paraments covering the altar, pulpit, and lectern. We have removed all of the banners. We don’t say “alleluia” during this season - it’s removed from the liturgy, and even our alleluia banners are taken away for a while. Part of the reason for this is that the only thing right now that should draw our attention is the cross. Your eyes should only be drawn to the cross. The cross is all we need to think about: what happened on the cross, who was put there, and why he was put there. Finally, when that journey is over, he will tell us himself the good and wonderful news that the journey actually doesn’t end there. Because his death isn’t the end of the story.

If you’re still not sure yet what your Lenten journey is going to look like, then let’s take one more look at the easel over here. This is the list we made 6 months ago, where we talked about our own vision for our congregation. The very first vision point is this: “Be a Great Commission church.” Jesus’ great commission to his followers was “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” If we’re going to make disciples, we need to model the discipleship we’re going to introduce people to. I think it’s incredibly appropriate for us to spend the season of Lent growing in our own discipleship: both individually and as a church family.

What does it mean for you to grow in your discipleship? What does that look like? Let me offer you this - Jesus had 2 rules: love God and love neighbor. Ultimately, our discipleship boils down to those 2 things. What can we do better? What can we do to love God better? What can *I* do to love God better? (That’s why I’m going to focus on Sabbath - I haven’t been obeying Him in that regard.) What can we do to love neighbor better? Here’s one idea - have you signed up for the Craft & Yard sale in April yet? We’re going to use our proceeds from that event for some of our ministries. After that, we’re going to be hosting the annual Mission Region Convocation - pastors and delegates from our fellow NALC congregations in North & South Carolina will come here in May to do the business of the church, to worship together, to plan the next year, to share the good things we’re doing and to see where we can help each other. There’s definitely some discipleship going on there. Find a way to help. Contact Paula - she *will* need volunteers!

As you look at the ashes on your forehead tonight in the mirror…as you look at each other in this sanctuary, passing by each other during Communion or sharing the Peace… remembering that cross of ashes and what it means, what it symbolizes… please consider what your Lenten discipline might be. Maybe it’s something you do alone, maybe it’s something you do with your family, or with a friend…but all of us bear that cross. All of us are called to penitence. All of us need renewal.

With all the noise and chaos in the world right now, there’s no better time to lean into our faith than this season of Lent. No matter what the world throws at us, no matter how ugly the news gets or how awful things around us seem, there’s nowhere better to spend our time and energy than on the Word of God. There’s no one better to spend our time with than with the God Who sent His Only Son to be with us, to teach us, and to die for us. The more we focus on Him, the more our faith grows, the better we will be able and ready to handle everything else.

Let us all pray for each other as we embark on a journey of reflection, discipline, and renewal. Let’s pray that we will grow in our faith and our understanding of God’s will for us, and that all of us will be better disciples 40 days from now than we are today. And let’s pray that we will enter into the next part of the Church Year ready to follow where God is leading us - to be a Great Commission Church, to grow in our outreach, and in our stewardship. And then we can watch the amazing things the Holy Spirit will do as He goes to work in our church family and in our community. I’m excited to be a part of that, and I pray that you are, too.