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Return,
Renew* Ash
Wednesday, Year A A sermon preached at FUMC, De Queen on February
6, 2008 by The Revd David S Williams I would like to
begin my homily today inviting you to listen to Barbara Brown Taylor’s
reflection on Lent to jump-start your journey this year. She writes, “Do
not bother looking for Lent in your Bible dictionary. There was no such thing
in biblical times. There is some evidence that early Christians fasted 40
hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending 40 days in
prayer and self-denial did not arise until later, when the initial rush of
Christian adrenaline was over and believers had gotten ho-hum about their
faith. When the world
did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, his followers stopped
expecting so much from God or from themselves. They hung a wooden cross on
the wall and settled back into their more or less comfortable routines,
remembering their once passionate devotion
to God …. Little by
little, Christians became devoted
to their comforts instead: the soft couch, the flannel sheets, the leg of
lamb with rosemary. These things made them feel safe and cared for – if not
by God, then by themselves. They decided there was no contradiction between being comfortable and being Christian, and
before long it was very hard to pick them out from the population at large.
They no longer distinguished
themselves by their bold love for one another. They did not get arrested for championing the poor. They blended in. They
avoided extremes. They decided to be nice instead of holy, and God moaned out
loud. Hearing that,
someone suggested it was time to call Christians back to their senses, and
the Bible offered some clues about how to do that. So the early
church announced a season of Lent, from the old English word Lenten, meaning
“spring” – not only a reference to the season before Easter, but also an
invitation to a springtime for the soul.
Forty days to cleanse the system
and open the eyes to what remains
when all comfort is gone. Forty days to remember what it is like to live by
the grace of God alone and not by what we can supply for ourselves” (“Settling For Less”
appeared in Christian Century,
February 18, 1998, pg. 169). Much as
professional baseball players report for Spring training to prepare for the
long season ahead, we are called to prepare ourselves … and that is what the
season of Lent is about, and that is why you are here today. You have come to
prepare the soul; do “spring cleaning,” begin “spring training.” Our lessons for
today are woven with the theme of reconciliation.
The prophet Joel calls us to “Return and be reconciled to God.” Paul implores
the church to be reconciled to God and not
to take God’s grace lightly or in vain. Jesus’, according to Matthew,
opposes “pretentious piety,” a kind of “show off spirituality.” It is obvious
that Jesus assumes that his disciples will give alms, pray and fast. But what
is at stake in the way we practice our
piety? According to Jesus it’s whether we are seeking God’s approval or human approval. The concern in the way we practice our piety is related to our need to return and be reconciled to God. Remember, says
Jesus, “People see
what’s obvious: visible generosity. God sees what is secret: the cost or ease
of the giving. People hear
what’s obvious: loud prayers. God hears what’s silent, the One to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom
no secrets are hid. People are
impressed by the visible: the outward signs of ascetic practice. God honors
the invisible: the cheerful face that hides the contrite heart” (David
Bartlett, New Proclamation Commentary
On The Gospels [London: Fortress, 2006],
p. 27). We are clearly
called, then, to embark upon a journey during Lent, a journey to return to God, to renew the life that God desires for each one of us. This needn’t
imply that we have departed from God. It simply means that we have an
opportunity to return to God in new
and fresh ways. We can renew our
focus, even if we are still traveling in the right direction. Just as
baseball players regroup after last year’s season, and renew their game by working on the basics of hitting the ball,
catching the ball, throwing the ball, and running the bases, in a similar
way, Matthew’s gospel provides some tangible, concrete and basic ways in
which we can renew our God-ward focus
during Lent. First, Jesus says that we can be almsgivers. It might be that the Holy Spirit will lead us to give
of our resources to some project or fund, or even prompt us to give in
additional ways to the ministry of our own congregation(s). It may mean that
we will be led to give one of our most valuable resources – time – to others so that their lives
may be enriched. Be almsgivers. Next, Jesus tells us that we can pray. Third year old Reese was learning the Lord’s Prayer, “Our
Father, who does art in heaven, Harold is His name.” … another little boy was
overheard praying: “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry
about it, I’m having a really good time like I am.” The thing about
prayer is that we have to get started sometime … so how about now? Perhaps
during this time we will be led to find more quiet time with God. Or maybe
God will lead us to practice a new or different form of prayer. Maybe you’ve
been a praying Christian for some time now. Prayer for you, may mean telling
God what you need, but maybe this season you can start afresh and branch out
in your prayer life and begin to learn the art of solitude, listening to God’s still small voice in silence. So we are invited to pray, says Jesus. Thirdly, Jesus tells us that we can fast. Someone described Lent as a
period of time when people deny themselves things they don’t want. Like the
child who saw his grandpa drinking beer during Lent. “Grandpa, I thought you
gave up liquor for Lent.” “No, sonny, just hard liquor,” said grandpa. “Okay, then,” said the grandson,
“I’ll just give up hard candy.” It may be that
God will ask us to give up a specific food item, or to fast a meal here or
there. The time and energy normally spent doing one thing can then be spent
in prayer or other spiritual disciplines or ministry. Perhaps the Lord will
ask you to fast something else, like the telephone, the newspaper, the TV, or
some other entity. All of these are tangible options for sharpening our spiritual focus during the Lenten season. So give,
pray and fast, says Jesus … just do it,
as if God was the reason why. As athletes
gather in ball parks around the country denying themselves many things to win
an athletic prize, we have an opportunity during this season to prepare
ourselves for Holy Week and the Easter event. And so I invite you to return to God, renew your commitment to reach out and receive the grace God
seeks to give you during this “spring time for the soul.” In the name of
the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. *Thanks to the Revd Dr. Brook Thelander for the inspiration of this Lenten Homily for Ash Wednesday. |
