Sermon: Ash Wednesday

Date Preached: Wednesday February 6th 2008

Bible Reference:

It's a common misconception that Lent is about self-improvement. Somehow a half-remembered custom of giving things up has been mixed in with our society's obsession with self-help and self-improvement, so that we've blurred the true meaning of the fast into a rather individualistic concept, more like a New Year Resolution to detox or de-clutter. We are fallen creatures and need redemption, not cosmetic surgery. No amount of self-improvement will change God's view of us - God who knows us better than we know ourselves, who is not fooled by the way we present ourselves in prayer, or religious observance, yet loves us to bits such that no lack of self-improvement will diminish his love for us. So here’s the Ash Wednesday message as we begin Lent. God, supremely, both knows us and loves us. We do’nt need to put on a show for him. And we cannot save ourselves apart from him. 

Lent isn’t about giving up luxuries; it’s not about losing weight or gaining other benefits; not even about food per se; or de-cluttering or Feng Shui or about any other kind of feel-good, de-toxifying exercise. In the end, it's about denying ourselves some of the essentials of everyday life in order to focus on the reality that we depend upon God for life itself. It’s about re-aligning ourselves with God and his purposes in our world; about reminding ourselves that all we have is a gift from God in any case.

So just three quick things that are interesting to notice about the traditional Lent fast.

The first is that it was uniform – everyone gave up the same things, rather than choosing something appropriate to themselves; something idiosyncratic – like quail’s eggs or beluga caviar. And it reminds us again that Lent is NOT about self-improvement, giving up things that are bad for you, punishing yourself for sin, trying to make yourself more holy, or trying to be better than the next person. Lent is first of all about remembering our humanity – our connection with others – and our dependence on God.

In a moment we will have Holy Communion, the Eucharist with the Imposition of Ashes – having the ash of last year’s Palm Crosses pressed onto our foreheads. This Ashing is a symbol of the fact that we are (but) dust. We cannot make ourselves like God – we’re not superhuman. We’re human, fallible, weak.  The words that accompany the ashing are reminiscent of a funeral:  “Remember that you are but dust. From dust you came, and to dust you shall return. Turn from sin, and follow Christ.”  We are “at the end of the day” flesh and blood, fragile, broken creatures. So the season of Lent earths us – gets our feet firmly on the ground. 

The second thing that’s important about the traditional Lent disciplines is that it is about giving up essentials – staple things - NOT luxuries or vices. Among those who do give up something for Lent, chocolate and alcohol seem to top the list. But the traditional Lent fast was about everyday necessities: staples, not luxuries; essentials, not vices. Giving up something that significantly affects everyday life focuses us on the fact that we are dependent upon God for life and breath. Everything we are and everything we have is a gift from God. So giving up something that is an everyday necessity is a daily reminder of our dependence upon God, and that all the good things we have, even life itself, are God’s gift to us. On his fast in the wilderness Jesus said "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Our daily subsistence isn’t separated from our spiritual journey; we are whole beings, not dualistic creatures. The mystery and wonder of the incarnation is that we have an embodied faith - Christianity is a holistic religion - mind, heart, soul AND BODY are all involved here.

Giving up essentials, not luxuries, is also a reminder that we worship in the everyday, not merely out of excess: if our fast focuses on luxury items - chocolate, expensive food or clothes, shopping binges, or even fresh flowers – perhaps we’re misleading ourselves to think that worship is in the realm of leisure, or luxury? God calls us to worship him in the everyday, the ordinary patterns and rhythms, and not just when we have a bit of time to spare; not just when things are going well and we have some surplus to be generous with. The worship that Jesus calls us to is the recognition that we depend upon God for every breath we take; and that our whole life needs to be grounded, earthed in the knowledge and love of God.

And then the third aspect of the traditional Lent discipline is its association with social justice and the redistribution of wealth. For as well as abstaining from certain foods, people were also traditionally encouraged to fast altogether for certain periods of time – like only eating one meal a day, for instance. And the money saved was not to be used for oneself, but was to be given to the poor. Following Jesus, Lent starts with a withdrawal into the desert (either actually - as the desert fathers did in the Egyptian wilderness – or metaphorically – slowing down to re-connect with God in a way that this results in a changed relationship with the wider world.)

So take one of the USPG boxes if you haven’t already – and the accompanying guide about things to think about over these next weeks

And as a sign of the spirit of penitence with which we shall keep this season of preparation for Easter, I invite you to receive on your head in ash the sign of the cross, the symbol of our salvation. 

God is inviting us to say “Yes” to him during this Lent Yes to his grand rescue scheme, where we’re brought back into a relationship with God – forgiven, restored and made whole.

Yes to the promises made in our baptisms about following him as his disciples and living accordingly. And more importantly God invites us to say ‘yes’ to the coming of his kingdom in our daily lives, where we fret about doing it our way and getting what we want; where saying Yes to God is so hard.

So much in my life, if I’m honest (looking back), has been about seeking influence, power, success - and popularity. But this baptismal way of Jesus is the way of “hiddenness”, powerlessness and littleness. It doesn’t seem a very appealing way in today’s celebrity culture, does it? Yet when we enter into true, deep communion with Jesus we find that it is this small way that leads to real peace and joy – as we allow his Spirit to make his home in us. I’d love this to be a year when you hear God speaking – personally – and try and hear this intimate promise taken from Isaiah 43 for yourself – put your own name in where you read Jacob or Israel:

“This is what the Lord says – he who created you Jacob; he who formed you Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour…Because you are precious in my sight and honoured and I love you I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.