Ash Wednesday

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

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To begin my message this evening I will share a poem by Jan Richardson titled, “Blessing the Dust.”*

All those days
you felt like dust,
like dirt,
as if all you had to do
was turn your face
toward the wind
and be scattered
to the four corners

or swept away
by the smallest breath
as insubstantial—

Did you not know
what the Holy One
can do with dust?

This is the day
we freely say
we are scorched.

This is the hour
we are marked
by what has made it
through the burning.

This is the moment
we ask for the blessing
that lives within
the ancient ashes,
that makes its home
inside the soil of
this sacred earth.

So let us be marked
not for sorrow.
And let us be marked
not for shame.
Let us be marked
not for false humility
or for thinking
we are less
than we are

but for claiming
what God can do
within the dust,
within the dirt,
within the stuff
of which the world
is made,
and the stars that blaze
in our bones,
and the galaxies that spiral
inside the smudge
we bear.

This beautiful poem addresses the sense of frailty that many of us feel. Forces in our world conspire to make us feel ashamed of our frailty, so we try to sweep it under the proverbial rug. We are taught to present ourselves as strong and independent people who can overcome any obstacle by sheer determination and hard work. We are praised for accomplishments and encouraged on all sides to be more, accumulate more, and earn more.

Allow yourself to imagine how much different the world would look if it were organized not around the Nike slogan “Just Do It,” but around the admission “I just can’t do it.”  

Imagine a world where people are free to be honest and vulnerable, scared, and with their needs on full display. Just imagine if the world looked more like what is happening across the world in Christian churches on this Ash Wednesday. 

On this day the Christian church reaches into the world’s misguided attempts at self-reliance, positive thinking, judgement of self and others, and tendency to ignore pain and jockey for positions of power. On this day the church reminds all who will listen that it is okay to feel as insubstantial as dust; as though the slightest breeze or breath will scatter us into the wind. It is okay to feel as insubstantial as dust because that is exactly what we are.

And as the poet declares, “Did you not know what the Holy One can do with dust?”

Every good and glorious gift in our universe is built of the same building blocks of matter (or, what we’ll call dust): the blazing sun, the majestic mountain, the singing bird, the lovers’ touch, the beating heart, the newborn child, the wrinkled hands of a grandmother.

On Sunday mornings the adult forum has been exploring a book by Richard Rohr titled, The Universal Christ. One of his points that has generated fruitful discussion is his insistence that Christ is in everything: every drop of water, every plant, every animal, every rock, and every person. This statement has a tendency to offend us when we think we are special--that is, when we think our ability to think, reason, and invent demonstrates we are more God-like than the rest of God’s creation. The idea that Christ is in everything takes center stage on Ash Wednesday, as our worship is undergirded by the awareness that we are all dust, that everything is dust, and that God is able to do amazing things for the dust that was created, loved, and destined for a beautiful eternity in God’s care. 

On this day the church reminds all who will listen that it is okay to feel as insubstantial as dust; as though the slightest breeze or breath will scatter us into the wind. It is okay to feel as insubstantial as dust because that is exactly what we are. It is okay to feel as insubstantial as dust because it turns out dust is anything but unsubstantial. 

The season of Lent calls us to put aside all the strivings and judgments that we use to set ourselves over and against others. When Jesus invites his followers to engage in spiritual disciplines such as almsgiving, prayer, fasting, and simplicity, he takes great care to warn against using these disciplines as measures of success or pursuits that make us better than those who do not engage in the disciplines. 

The spiritual disciplines are only ever meant to be invitations to awaken us to the reality of God’s presence in your life. Giving away your money, fasting from food and drink, and praying are not tricks to make God appear in your life. God is already there. Instead, these disciplines help to eliminate the voices and impulses that would keep you from recognizing God’s presence. 

Over the next five weeks I would like you to join us here at Cross of Grace as we explore various spiritual disciplines that will help you feel and open your eyes to God’s presence and promise for your life. Each worship service will include liturgy, music, teaching, and a space to practice a discipline such as the spiritual reading of scripture, fasting, varieties of prayer, mediation, and the practice of reconciliation.

We will engage with these disciplines in the public space of worship, but not with the purpose or intention of leading others to think more highly of us for being an outstanding Christian. God loves us because we are dust, not because we are religious. The reason we embark on this journey of discipleship is because that is how we can come to feel and understand God’s love for us. And once we understand God’s love for us we can more adequately share God’s love for others. 

May this Lenten season be one where you can bring your weakness and frailty before God and others, and expect God to feel God’s loving embrace in return. 

I will leave you with another poem by Jan Richardson titled, “Will You Meet Us?”*

Will you meet us in the ashes,
will you meet us in the ache
and show your face
within our sorrow
and offer us your word of grace:

That you are life within the dying,
that you abide within the dust,
that you are what survives the burning,
that you arise to make us new.

And in our aching, you are breathing;
and in our weeping, you are here
within the hands that bear your blessing,
enfolding us within your love.

© Jan Richardson. janrichardson.com

A God-Shaped Heart

Matthew 5:21-37

"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, "You shall not murder'; and "whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, "You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. 

"You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. 

"It was also said, "Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 

"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, "You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be "Yes, Yes' or "No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

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My family is sandwiched between our two boys’ birthdays, which fall in January and March. Having an 8-year-old and a soon-be-to 11-year-old is proving to be a bit of an adjustment, much like each year that has come before. I’m not on Facebook but my wife showed me one of the “on this date six years ago” posts that popped up on her phone from Christmas just before we moved to New Palestine, and boy did our kids look little.

With each passing year my wife and I find ourselves struggling to adapt to the challenge of parenting through new stages. We are constantly wondering what it means to be a good parent, and the answers we come up with today (when we come up with answers!) are different than they were six years ago, and different than they were almost eleven years ago. 

Obviously, parenting a newborn is difficult. It is emotionally and physically exhausting. But the existential parenting concerns parents of newborns face are pretty limited at that time. As long as the child is being fed, changed, kept warm, loved, and getting sleep, you’re excelling as a parent. Parents are incapable of making many more or tougher parenting decisions at that stage.

As the child grows and interacts with more and more of the world, the definition of successful parenting becomes less clear. A parent always wants to make sure the child’s basic needs are covered. But as I parent my growing children I know that my responsibilities go beyond simply making sure that their basic needs are being covered. It’s a movement from “How do I keep this baby alive” to “What kind of life can I provide this child?” and even still, “What is my role in this child’s life?” 

This movement from the difficult simplicity of newborn parenting to the difficult complexity of parenting through the lifespan is a helpful model to understand our spiritual life.

When our faith is new we can only handle the basics. At this stage our concern echoes the concern of the parents of a newborn, “How do I keep this thing alive?” We need clear cut definitions and distinctions. A faith like this pulls things to opposite poles or dualities. We need to know what is good and what is bad, who God is and who God isn’t, who is in and who is out, what we should do and what we shouldn’t do. It’s a well-documented fact that many people never move beyond this stage of faith. They are handed a script and are content to play their part, no questions asked. 

Others move to the next stage of faith where things become messy and complicated. Things are no longer black or white. Instead, there is nuance, give-and-take, and constant wrestling with matters of truth. This stage of faith is like the stage of parenting where every comment or instruction given to a child is met with the same response: “why?” There’s a voice in our heads that starts asking “why?” The voice tells us we need more than just the basics; we need more explanation, more nuance, more grace, a more pronounced role in the decision-making process. Whereas newborn faith is characterized by “either/or,” more mature faith is characterized by “yes/but” or “yes/and.”

Jesus uses his sermon on the mount to invite us to cultivate a more mature and messy faith -- a faith that moves beyond simple obedience to the law and into a more holistic and encompassing vision of the transformation of one’s heart and life.

We have to move beyond simple obedience to the law because the old religious law had become corrupted. This law made its followers feel insecure, morally weak, and unacceptable. When you’ve convinced someone they are unacceptable, they are more inclined to do what you want them to do because human beings will go to great lengths to feel accepted. What better way to cement your power over someone else than by establishing laws that people are incapable of obeying! With every mistake and misstep, the people saw themselves as further and further away from the ideal of God which they assumed the pious religious leaders were following. 

Jesus comes with a radical new message and invitation. In his sermon, Jesus presents snippets of the law when he says “You have heard it said…” But he’s not mentioning them just to remind the people they should be following the law; he has something to add; he has some nuance, some grace, some explaining to do, some questions, perhaps. So he says, “But I say to you…” 

Jesus invites us to understand that there is a divine law that is not a set of rules to follow but instead is a blueprint for a God-shaped heart energized by love. Jesus is an example of what it would look like to live our lives as God would live them if God were you or I. The law had suppressed the people for so long that they doubted they were fundamentally good people, and consequently they doubted whether God was fundamentally good. But here comes Jesus with the message that God is good, all people are inherently precious, and that it is possible to live with a God-shaped heart. 

Jesus lists a few examples in his sermon. A man or woman who lives with a God-shaped heart would have an intense desire to be of help. Such a person would have neither contempt nor lust for others. Such a person (a man, in this example) would not divorce his wife simply because he felt like it, which was a common practice at the time. And, such a person would only say how things are or are not; there would be no verbal manipulation.

I started this morning by addressing the question on many of our hearts, which is “How do I know if I’m a good parent?” Here we have a picture of what it looks like to be a good Christ-follower, or even a good person. All these questions  are one-in-the-same.

A good person seeks to follow the footsteps of Christ, by recognizing the inherent dignity and worth of every person and by cooperating with the ongoing work of God in the world that is expressed in acts of loving kindness and trust in God. We are not to become preoccupied with checking off a list of dos and don’ts of spiritual perfection. This would only tear us down or, conversely, over-inflate our ego. Instead, Jesus reframes the law to show that it is possible to live in the Kingdom of God here and now. The Holy Spirit will help us on this journey of discipleship. It will take a long, long, time to feel any sense of movement towards a God-shaped heart. But transformation is possible; and if that is what you seek, God will deliver. I can think of no better news to announce this morning.

Amen.