Psalm 51:1-17
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Let us pray: O God, you are indeed gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
Teach us, we pray, to be more like you as we approach the resurrection
of your Son. Amen.
You have a lot of choices before you.
Maybe for some of you, that is the last thing you expected,
or wanted, to hear.
Choices? Really? Isn’t someone going to tell me what to do and
how to do it? Won’t someone please free
me from the burden of having to make a decision? I chose to come to church on a Wednesday night,
haven’t I done enough?
I’m not entirely serious, of course…but I am a little bit
serious.
You and I, we have some choices to make.
We know that Lent is the season of preparation, 40 days, not
counting Sundays, when we join with our spiritual ancestors in a 40-day time of
trial. Noah experienced it on the ark in
the rain; Moses and Elijah were each tested 40 days in the wilderness; Jesus
had his temptations after 40 days in the desert. We prepare our hearts for the coming of the
resurrected Christ and Easter.
We can choose for Lent to be a very solemn time of fasting
and prayer. We can choose to simplify
our lives and slow down and focus on our relationships with God and Jesus, with
our family, and ourselves. We may give
something up or begin a new practice as a discipline. We have so many choices.
Because we believe that Jesus died for our sins we can spend
a great deal of time and introspection on our sinful natures and how we deserve
the death that Jesus will take on our behalf.
This is a choice. Yet, beware how
you may fall into self-pity and a grief that turns you inward on yourself and
away from the very love Jesus died to show you.
You could celebrate the joy of life that is the gift given
us in Jesus. Resolve for this Lent to
not be one of sorrowful introspection, but full living in defiance of the death
that comes for all mortals. Still, be
warned, do not so worship life as to forget the power of death.
Choices, choices, choices.
What are you going to do?
In Joel, the Lord tells us to return to God with our whole
hearts. Is your heart whole? Or does it feel divided by all the choices,
chances, changes, and opportunities before you?
If your heart is whole that would mean that your prayers are not merely
words but actions; your peace is not just for you but for all people; your
repentance comes with a making amends, and restoring justice where you have
caused discord.
Wholeness is a holy endeavor. The steadfast love of God endures beyond all
human brokenness and frailty and divided minds and hearts. Should we celebrate such love though we do
not deserve it? Should we lament our
unworthiness for all that we receive?
You may choose to come forward and receive the cross of
ashes upon your forehead and be told, “Remember you are dust and to dust you
shall return.” Be reminded here that in
order for there to be resurrection there must first be death. Can you fully celebrate a coming to life if
you have not first acknowledged that death is real? That even for God in Christ Jesus, death must
be real?
How very contradictory is Paul in his Second Letter to the
Corinthians; “In honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good…impostors, and
yet…true…dying, and see—we are alive.”
He dares the Corinthians, asking them: What and Who will you believe?
It is a choice.
What and Who will you believe?
Claudio Carvalhaes, in his commentary on Matthew, speaks
about those hypocrites of whom Jesus is speaking, “who performed the external
gestures of a faith that had nothing that resembled any inward belief or
conviction.” Words must be more than
words. Carvalhaes speaks of “incarnate
spirituality” and it makes perfect sense to me that a God who became incarnate
to dwell among us would want our faith to take form and shape in us.
And, if that is indeed the case, we are left with this:
If our treasures are where our heart is, and our heart is
with God, then we must whole heartedly pray for, give to, bring about peace
with, and pour out compassion upon, all those for whom Jesus and God would do
the same.
And who might that be?
You have a lot of choices to make.
Choices which begin as questions.
What are my treasures?
Where is my heart?
Who is my neighbor?
What do I remember?
Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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