Ash Wednesday 2020 The Clock is Running

(NLT)

The Clock is Running

The Clock is Running

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

This week in staff meeting I was sharing how the older I get the more aware I am that time is in fact a limited commodity. I know this is a bit of a morbid thought but this is what is difficult about hitting certain age milestones.

The Clock is Running

Some milestones focus on achieving different stages of freedom so we spend much of our younger years looking forward to later years only to hit an age where we realize that we have fewer days ahead than we have behind us.

This week in staff meeting I was sharing how the older I get the more aware I am that time is in fact a limited commodity. I know this is a bit of a morbid thought but this is what is difficult about hitting certain age milestones.

Then we start wondering where all the time has gone and we start to worry if we will have time to travel to the places we always wanted to go…meet people we wanted to meet…do things we always thought we had plenty of time to do.

Some milestones focus on achieving different stages of freedom so we spend much of our younger years looking forward to later years. Only to hit an age where we realize that we have fewer days ahead than we have behind us. Then we start wondering where all the time when and we start to worry if we will have time to travel to the places we always wanted to go…meet people we wanted to meet…do things we always thought we had plenty of time to do.

I often wonder how our lives would be different if we had a countdown clock ticking down second by second in the fringe of our vision from the time we were born to the time we would take our last breath?

Would it make a difference? Would we live in fear of when the clock stopped? Or would it take a worry away? Would we care if we were popular? Would we strive to make sure that we had the best job or the best stuff?

Or would the realization that our life is truly finite finally move us to focus on and live for those things that are truly important?

Only you can answer these questions today for you...but for me as I look over my life I can point to areas where I spent tons of time trying to get the approval of people that quite honestly were only in my life for a limited time and many of them did not add anything but anxiety to my life. As I look at these moments I wish I could get them back so that I could live a life freer of worry, and striving for things that really hurt my life instead of enhanced it.

Once we come to terms with our mortality…with the inescapable truth that we came from dust and to dust we will return we are no longer slaves to here and now…Instead we are free to live for Jesus instead of living for everyone else.

Ashes are a reminder of the future

All of the things that we strive so hard to have will in some amount of time become ashes…they will be no more but the difference between things and humainity is that ash or death is a transition not an end.

The imposition of the Ash is a reminder not only of the morbid thought of ashes to ashes dust to dust…but that our eternity is taken care of because of Jesus victory over the cross and death itself.

Time is the commodity for all of us…how will you live it?

I can remember the day that my son turned 10 years old…not the celebration but the realization that Calebs time as a child under my roof was fast approaching and end…this really got me to thinking about how much I still wanted to do with him.

I wanted the last part of this adolescent season of his life to be full of good memories so he and his mother and I could look back with no regrets.

Tonight we embark on a spiritual, emotional, and intellectual journey to a physical resurrection…the resurrection of Jesus.

I often wonder how our lives would be different if we had a countdown clock ticking down second by second in the fringe of our vision from the time we were born to the time we would take our last breath?

Today we are aware of our sin, mortality and need of repentance. We are also reminded our the promise of our resurrection.

Time is the commodity for all of us.

Would it make a difference? Would we live in fear of when the clock stopped? Or would it take a worry away? Would we care if we were popular? Would we strive to make sure that we had the best job or the best stuff?

Thanks be to God.

The imposition of Ashes is a voluntary physical response to our mortality and our repentance. If you are comfortable with this sacred moment we invite you to come forward after this responsive reading.

Or would the realization that our life is truly finite finally move us to focus on and live for those things that are truly important?

Responsive reading....

Only you can answer these questions today for you...but for me as I look over my life I can point to areas where I spent tons of time trying to get the approval of people that quite honestly were only in my life for a limited time and many of them did not add anything but anxiety to my life. As I look at these moments I wish I could get them back so that I could live a life freer of worry, and striving for things that really hurt my life instead of enhanced it.

So I tend to believe that if I had that ticking clock my life decisions would be more focused on the eternal reality of resurrection instead to the temporal reality I now live in.

In times of death we are often asked how we would live our lives if we knew we only had so many days or hours to live…today reminds that even though we do not know the day or the hour of our death we truly do have limited time on earth….So why not live as though this were true?

Engage in the things that really matter. Be nicer to people, draw closer to God, Pray more, give to the poor, go on a mission trip, you name it do it…do not wait until you get to a point where you realize that the things that really mattered to you are out of your grasp.

Once we come to terms with our mortality…with the inescapable truth that we came from dust and to dust we will return we are no longer slaves in the here and now…Instead we are free to live for Jesus instead of living for everyone else.

Ashes are a reminder of the future

All of the things that we strive so hard to have will in some amount of time become ashes…they will be no more but the difference between things and humanity is that ash or death is a transition not an end.

The imposition of the Ash is a reminder not only of the morbid thought of ashes to ashes dust to dust…but that our eternity is taken care of because of Jesus victory over the cross and death itself.

Time is the commodity for all of us…how will you live it?

Tonight we embark on a spiritual, emotional, and intellectual journey to a physical resurrection…the resurrection of Jesus.

Today we are aware of our sin, mortality and need of repentance. We are also reminded our the promise of our resurrection.

Thanks be to God.

The imposition of Ashes is a voluntary physical response to our mortality and our repentance. If you are comfortable with this sacred moment we invite you to come forward after this responsive reading.