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ASH WEDENSDAY – 01 March 2006 St Paul Lutheran Church, ABQ NM – The Rev. P. L. Holman Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 “Good Works, but Faith Walks” It could be that I’m just more observant in my older age, but it seems to me more people these days are aware of Lent, at least the idea of it. In Tuesday’s ABQ JOURNAL the AHS student who writes for YES/the Youth Express section began his article this way: “Today is Mardi Gras, so find some long beads and have fun tonight before you have to give something up for Lent, which starts [tomorrow], Ash Wednesday. I’m not Catholic, but I like giving up something every year anyway, just for fun. Last year I gave up cookie dough ice cream, but that was an easy one because I could still eat mint chocolate, my second favorite. If you aren’t Catholic, you can give up something funny, like shaving or taking showers – or having friends.” It’s a well-intentioned attempt at being relevant, but a bit of the mark (like practicing one’s piety before others, eh?). For those who journey intentionally through Lent, the power of this season resides not in the call “for fun” or to be different from others; the power resides in its call for simplicity. Words from the opening hymn this day speak to that: “More sparing, therefore, let us make the words we speak, the food we take, Our sleep, our laughter, every sense, learn peace through holy penitence.” [Again We Keep This Solemn Fast, Gregory the Great; NEW CENTURY HYMNAL] Lent as a forty-day faith walk is about learning peace – peace within and peace without – a time to draw closer to God and renew our commitment to living as the body of Christ in the world. A time to experience the difference between doing good works and following faithfully where Christ has led the way. Supplanting part of the busy-ness of daily life with practices like intentional prayer and or periodic fasting helps sharpen our listening and our vision, opening us anew to the signs of God’s grace. Such renewed openness can strengthen our faith and our walk. One of the prevalent symbols for this Lenten journey is that of the cross. This two-dimensional matrix offers an image for our two-step journey in Lent: the vertical arms reaching into the heart and up to God – strengthening the faith within, and horizontal arms reaching to the neighbor in need and embracing the world’s aching need – renewing the witness and guiding the faith walk. When we receive the cross of ashes this night we hear, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In this sign of dust we are connected with the whole history of God’s people since the beginning of time, when God breathed the breath of life into the dust of the ground and humanity took form. In the cross-shaped signing is the mark of our Baptism, when we were “sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever” and connected with the forgiveness that is for us by God’s grace new every day. Last night we celebrated “Fat Tuesday” here with pancakes and bacon (the odor is just about out of the building), with good fellowship and much fun. Youth helped the younger folks create masks to wear; along with the beads these masks were symbols of the party spirit of the evening. There’s a teaching moment in that mask making activity, of course. We wear those masks for fun on Fat Tuesday, but now Lent calls us to remove the masks. Remove those masks that block our vision [pastor holds up three masks and gradually lays them down] – set aside those things like apathy and jealousy, anger and fear, even the false sense of security and shallow happiness that can block us from seeing God and seeing ourselves as God does, beloved just the way we are. A musician practices in order to enjoy the rapture of the music; a mountain climber trains in order to enjoy the thrill of adventure. The disciplines of Lent – simplifying daily meals, intentional prayer, sharing of time and treasures with those in need – these are part of the disciples’ training regiment that help us see more clearly, and follow more nearly, the Christ in our midst. Let us pray: O God of all
creation, Artist
of souls, Amen [from the RMS E-Connection for Ash Wednesday, 3/1/06] |