[The following sermon was preached by Dr.
Lent is a = dirty little season. It begins with= ashes and ends with an unfinished tomb. It is not at all nice and clean, so we will not pretend that it is otherwise.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> These are forty, messy days; messy= in the gritty reality of life as we know it to be. Untidy. Unpredictable. Uncertain. Unpleasant.
Were it no= t for the Church, we could live through Spring, hoping= for the accuracy of the Ground Hog’s Day weather prediction, and let East= er blossom in our hearts with all joy of Eternity. Were it not for the Bible, we could ignore much of the Gospels tragedy, and focus on the triumph of Resurrectio= n.
Here’= ;s the problem: even the Bible canno= t get us to Resurrection without death. Nor can we get to death without dying. Nor can we get to dying without li= ving.
The Church= knows its Bible, how various forty days prepare God’s people for something spectacular that God does to reveal God’s self; how during a particul= ar forty days Jesus prepared himself for fully living as the Son of God. It is all there in Luke, chapter f= our.
Out in the wilderness – living in the rough – Jesus gets dirty. He gets tired. He gets hungry, fasting for forty = days. He is tempted, as the devil presen= ts him with several short-cuts to power and glory. He has to choose how he is willing= to prepare to be all the God has sent him to be for you and for me.
This is wh= at the Church remembers as we begin this season of Lent. The options really are ours to cho= ose; not God imposing on us. Instead, = we are invited (challenged is more like it) to take a good, honest look and see ourselves as we really are in light of what God wants us to be. We are given the opportunity to ro= ll up our sleeves, apply some spiritual elbow grease, and start cleaning.
It would b= e easier if we could just look at each other, helpfully, sincerely pointing out each others short-comings and gently, yet, strongly suggest that he do this, or = she do that, to improve. But, these days are more about our individuality that = our mutuality. Jesus said,
“Do not judge, so th=
at you
may not be judged. 2For with the judgment you make you will be
judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3W=
hy
do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the lo=
g in
your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me
take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?
So, what n= eeds to be cleaned up and cleaned out in your life? You do not have to settle for the = simple solutions of un-cluttering the garage, or cleaning your room, or finding the surface of those spread-out spaces. Instead of looking around, look within.
What thoug= hts, what attitudes can become less self-centered and self-serving? What habits, what actions can be a= ltered to be less unhealthy? What hu= rts and hates have you harbored for long enough? Of what history are you willing to= let go? In what ways can you beco= me more like Jesus?
That is wh= at we are about on Ash Wednesday. We could have stayed home, watched television, read a book, or sat in the back yard enjoying the warm evening’s sunset. Instead, we came here to hear with= our minds and our hearts what God alone can do. We know by now that we cannot c= lean up our act on our own; if we could have, then we would have before now.
So, let= 217;s begin and live this dirty little season letting God clean up and clean out = our minds, our hearts, our bodies, and our spirits. Beginning tonight, here and now, w= e can put our lives in the proper perspective that we really do only have so many days to live.
Our Christ knows. We cannot get to Resurrection without death. We cannot get to death without dying. We cannot get to dying without living. Let tonight, let this Lenten seaso= n, be about living.
Amen.
Ash Wednesday=
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