Ash Wednesday Feb 25, 2009- Sermon
The most recent Readers Digest proclaims on its cover, The secrets of a healthy
Heart”
Inside is an article, perhaps some of you have already read, that describes all the
things we should be eating or not eating and all the things we should be doing or
not doing to keep our hearts healthy and strong and so prolong our lives.
On the Internet, in unsolicited emails, in magazines, newspapers and books, on
the radio and on TV constant reminders come of what we should or should not
be doing to keep our hearts healthy. Just last week I had a routine checkup with
my doctor. Of course blood was drawn, tests were run to see how my LDL’s,
HDL’s, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were doing. We talked about sticky
verses non-sticky and now I get to eat lots of fatty fish or take fish oil capsules. I
have also been instructed to lose weight, lower my BMI and work on my blood
pressure. Sound familiar? All we have to do is take care of all those things and
we will live forever!!!
Well, no, not really. As we ere just reminded as the ashes were placed on our
foreheads, we won’t live forever, no matter how well we eat or exercise or
manage our blood pressure. We are mortal. “Remember that you are dust and to
dust you will return”. Today is all we can guarantee. In fact this moment is all we
can be sure of. Our next breath and tomorrow are in God’s hands. Caring for
our physical beating heart is important, important for our health and well-being
but we also need to consider our spiritual heart, the center of our lives and who
we are.
“Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me” We don’t see as
much in the magazines or newspapers about cleaning our spiritual heart, although
there are occasional articles about forgiveness and letting go of worry, being
hopeful or of the importance of having some kind of faith but not much is said
about sin or maybe we call it something else or try to talk around it. Scaring
people into turning to God though fear of retribution and threats of destruction
leave many of us shaking our heads and saying, “That isn’t the God of love I
know “ Sin separates from God, whether it is saying, “I am going to give my
bucks where the most people can see it and praise me” Whether it is hating some
one quietly in your heart. Whether it is refusing to hear the love God has for each
of us in Jesus, sin clogs our hearts and God’s love cannot flow through our lives.
Just like we carry extra pounds of stored energy otherwise known as fat on our
bodies which our doctors tell us we need to shed to keep our hearts healthy, we
carry the extra weight of guilt or worry or fear, or shame. We carry the weight of
sin. Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us. We read that tonight. We can lose
that extra weight, we can shed those extra pounds of sin that we carry around by
giving them to Jesus through confession and by daily renewing our vows of
baptism. Remember in the baptismal waters we die with Christ and rise again to
new life. We are saved, yet sin comes back and we need to give it to Jesus again.
Just like we are instructed to exercise to keep our beating hearts fit. We need to
exercise our faith to keep our spiritual hearts fit. The season of lent is built around
the Christian disciplines of prayer, fasting and doing good works. We don’t do
these things in order to win God’s favor or to work our way into heaven. Jesus
who became sin on the cross for us did all that was required. It is out of joy and
thanksgiving that we do the heart work of Christian living. Not to be seen and
praised by our neighbors and friends, not to work our way into God’s good
graces, but to bring praise to God and to expand God’s Kingdom around us.
Jesus speaks in today’s scripture reading about spiritual practices, the same ones
we emphasize during Lent. Jesus says, “Go into your closet to pray”. Paul, the
apostle, instructs us to pray without ceasing. I encourage you to do the same. To
aid us all to remember to pray during our busy lives we have Lenten prayer
reminders to pass out to you all. They go on your key chain or in your pocket.
Someplace that will provide you with a tactile reminder to pray. During the next
few weeks we will also have a prayer tree upstairs in the fellowship hall where
prayer request can be hung and shared.
Doing good works or alms giving is another spiritual practice Jesus talks about.
We are God’s hands and feet in caring for people and sharing the good news of
the kingdom of God. What can you do to make someone else’s life better? Who
can you touch with the love of God? Do it in secret. Do it with someone else.
Again during the new few weeks as we meet for Wednesday night Soup suppers
there will be a sign up sheet for families or individuals to covenant or promise to
do Acts of Love during Lent. If you chose to share what you have done we can
report back to each other while we share a meal. IF your fist reaction is,” Oh, I
don’t know what to do” perhaps if we just agree to do random acts of love and
kindness for people we know and for people we don’t know we can begin
practicing doing good works for Christ. There is a story told about Tolstoy, the
great Russian writer. One day as he was walking, a beggar approached him
pleading for help. Tolstoy searched his pockets but found no coins to share,
regretfully he said to the beggar, “Please do not be angry with me, my brother,
but I have nothing. If I did I would gladly give it with you”. The beggars face lit
up and he replied, “You have given me more than I have asked, for you have
called me brother!” Exercise your faith. Commit an act of Love every day during
Lent and maybe it will become a habit for life.
Fasting, Dieting, giving something up, that sounds a lot harder. It is a Christian
discipline that requires self-discipline. Even during this time of economic
downturn and anxiety about the future, we need to recognize that we are blessed
with an abundance of the necessities of life. We are fat. Learning to live simply,
learning that having enough rather than always striving for more is freeing.
Whether you consider fasting with food, the TV, playing on the computer,
accumulating more things-- whatever you choose, fasting gives us the space, the
time, the opportunity to turn our hearts to God. “Return to me with all your heart”
says the Lord in our Psalm today. What form might your Lenten exercise take?
Sometimes Lent is depicted as a time of doom and gloom. Nothing could be
farther from the truth. It is a serious time a time for reflection, a time for exercise,
a time of doing heart work as we journey with Jesus toward the cross, the cross
that makes our heart work possible, the cross where he who knew no sin
became sin for us so that we may be able to stand before God with a clean heart.
Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. Today is the day God
has given us to return to Him. Today is the day God has given us to do our heart
work for Him.
Amen
The most recent Readers Digest proclaims on its cover, The secrets of a healthy
Heart”
Inside is an article, perhaps some of you have already read, that describes all the
things we should be eating or not eating and all the things we should be doing or
not doing to keep our hearts healthy and strong and so prolong our lives.
On the Internet, in unsolicited emails, in magazines, newspapers and books, on
the radio and on TV constant reminders come of what we should or should not
be doing to keep our hearts healthy. Just last week I had a routine checkup with
my doctor. Of course blood was drawn, tests were run to see how my LDL’s,
HDL’s, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were doing. We talked about sticky
verses non-sticky and now I get to eat lots of fatty fish or take fish oil capsules. I
have also been instructed to lose weight, lower my BMI and work on my blood
pressure. Sound familiar? All we have to do is take care of all those things and
we will live forever!!!
Well, no, not really. As we ere just reminded as the ashes were placed on our
foreheads, we won’t live forever, no matter how well we eat or exercise or
manage our blood pressure. We are mortal. “Remember that you are dust and to
dust you will return”. Today is all we can guarantee. In fact this moment is all we
can be sure of. Our next breath and tomorrow are in God’s hands. Caring for
our physical beating heart is important, important for our health and well-being
but we also need to consider our spiritual heart, the center of our lives and who
we are.
“Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me” We don’t see as
much in the magazines or newspapers about cleaning our spiritual heart, although
there are occasional articles about forgiveness and letting go of worry, being
hopeful or of the importance of having some kind of faith but not much is said
about sin or maybe we call it something else or try to talk around it. Scaring
people into turning to God though fear of retribution and threats of destruction
leave many of us shaking our heads and saying, “That isn’t the God of love I
know “ Sin separates from God, whether it is saying, “I am going to give my
bucks where the most people can see it and praise me” Whether it is hating some
one quietly in your heart. Whether it is refusing to hear the love God has for each
of us in Jesus, sin clogs our hearts and God’s love cannot flow through our lives.
Just like we carry extra pounds of stored energy otherwise known as fat on our
bodies which our doctors tell us we need to shed to keep our hearts healthy, we
carry the extra weight of guilt or worry or fear, or shame. We carry the weight of
sin. Jesus who knew no sin became sin for us. We read that tonight. We can lose
that extra weight, we can shed those extra pounds of sin that we carry around by
giving them to Jesus through confession and by daily renewing our vows of
baptism. Remember in the baptismal waters we die with Christ and rise again to
new life. We are saved, yet sin comes back and we need to give it to Jesus again.
Just like we are instructed to exercise to keep our beating hearts fit. We need to
exercise our faith to keep our spiritual hearts fit. The season of lent is built around
the Christian disciplines of prayer, fasting and doing good works. We don’t do
these things in order to win God’s favor or to work our way into heaven. Jesus
who became sin on the cross for us did all that was required. It is out of joy and
thanksgiving that we do the heart work of Christian living. Not to be seen and
praised by our neighbors and friends, not to work our way into God’s good
graces, but to bring praise to God and to expand God’s Kingdom around us.
Jesus speaks in today’s scripture reading about spiritual practices, the same ones
we emphasize during Lent. Jesus says, “Go into your closet to pray”. Paul, the
apostle, instructs us to pray without ceasing. I encourage you to do the same. To
aid us all to remember to pray during our busy lives we have Lenten prayer
reminders to pass out to you all. They go on your key chain or in your pocket.
Someplace that will provide you with a tactile reminder to pray. During the next
few weeks we will also have a prayer tree upstairs in the fellowship hall where
prayer request can be hung and shared.
Doing good works or alms giving is another spiritual practice Jesus talks about.
We are God’s hands and feet in caring for people and sharing the good news of
the kingdom of God. What can you do to make someone else’s life better? Who
can you touch with the love of God? Do it in secret. Do it with someone else.
Again during the new few weeks as we meet for Wednesday night Soup suppers
there will be a sign up sheet for families or individuals to covenant or promise to
do Acts of Love during Lent. If you chose to share what you have done we can
report back to each other while we share a meal. IF your fist reaction is,” Oh, I
don’t know what to do” perhaps if we just agree to do random acts of love and
kindness for people we know and for people we don’t know we can begin
practicing doing good works for Christ. There is a story told about Tolstoy, the
great Russian writer. One day as he was walking, a beggar approached him
pleading for help. Tolstoy searched his pockets but found no coins to share,
regretfully he said to the beggar, “Please do not be angry with me, my brother,
but I have nothing. If I did I would gladly give it with you”. The beggars face lit
up and he replied, “You have given me more than I have asked, for you have
called me brother!” Exercise your faith. Commit an act of Love every day during
Lent and maybe it will become a habit for life.
Fasting, Dieting, giving something up, that sounds a lot harder. It is a Christian
discipline that requires self-discipline. Even during this time of economic
downturn and anxiety about the future, we need to recognize that we are blessed
with an abundance of the necessities of life. We are fat. Learning to live simply,
learning that having enough rather than always striving for more is freeing.
Whether you consider fasting with food, the TV, playing on the computer,
accumulating more things-- whatever you choose, fasting gives us the space, the
time, the opportunity to turn our hearts to God. “Return to me with all your heart”
says the Lord in our Psalm today. What form might your Lenten exercise take?
Sometimes Lent is depicted as a time of doom and gloom. Nothing could be
farther from the truth. It is a serious time a time for reflection, a time for exercise,
a time of doing heart work as we journey with Jesus toward the cross, the cross
that makes our heart work possible, the cross where he who knew no sin
became sin for us so that we may be able to stand before God with a clean heart.
Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. Today is the day God
has given us to return to Him. Today is the day God has given us to do our heart
work for Him.
Amen
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