TLDR: Lent invites us to pare down, to ask God and each other for forgiveness, and to place all of our burdens at the feet of the cross of Jesus. We start the season wearing ashes on our foreheads with humility to remind ourselves that life is short and that how we live matters to God. Read on for more.
We have had some really bad weather around the country these last couple of weeks, with parts of the Midwest and Northeast buried under feet of snow and ice. We ourselves have had a cold Winter this year. I have vivid memories of cold temperatures in Iowa, where I was an Associate Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Davenport from 2007 to 2009. I remember the sheer amount of clothes we had to wear just to go outside. Long underwear and long sleeve shirts were used for undergarments. Over them we would wear heavy pants, long sleeve shirts, and heavy cotton socks, creating a second layer of clothing. After this we would put on a third layer by wearing a heavy sweater and snow boots. A fourth layer often would come in the form of a heavy coat, gloves, hat and earmuffs. For children it was actually encouraged that full body ski suits be used.
Even after all these precautions, it was often encouraged that people stayed indoors and limit exposure to the frigid elements as much as possible, especially for children and the elderly. The temperatures got so cold that even your tears would freeze on contact, and you could get frost bitten just by being out for a few minutes. I was always fascinated by the routine of shedding clothes that happened every time the kids came back in after some time outside. Layer by layer they would shed the extra weight until they felt free of the burden of these wet, semi-frozen clothes. In many ways Lent is like this process of dressing down.
As we go through life, we put on extra weight that slows down our walk of faith and our relationship with the Lord. Some of these layers provide us protection, but they slow us down, nonetheless. Let me give you just a few examples: We get hurt by someone we love and, from that moment on, we make the decision not to trust anyone again. Yes, this decision will protect us from experiencing pain, but it also causes us to become isolated from others and perhaps even from God. Someone of a different race or ethnic background offends us or fails to live up to our expectations and, from then on, we purposely act cautiously with other members of that ethnic or racial group. Yes, perhaps this decision will insulate us from being taken advantage of or offended, but eventually this protective layer develops into hatred, racism, and intolerance.
We have been financially exploited by a bank, credit card company, or person and now we decide to do likewise to others before they have a chance to do it to us. This decision could protect us from abuse, but it also becomes unfair treatment of your brothers and sisters.
Sin can protect our ego, build walls of separation to keep others out, build a wedge between ourselves and God and others, and eventually it has the potential to make us much less than what God intended us to be. Our lives become entangled by resentment and hatred, by a misguided view of what’s important, by a utilitarian treatment of others, and by a constant move away from God and our brothers and sisters. These layers can be protective at first, but eventually this extra weight becomes much too heavy a burden for us to carry. The time comes when we are so overwhelmed with guilt, anxiety, resentment, isolation, and bitterness that we can barely tolerate the company of others, and we feel abandoned by God.
Lent invites us to pare down, to ask God and each other for forgiveness, to place all of our burdens at the cross of Jesus and to get rid of all those layers that no longer protect us but rather enslave us and limit our movements. Lent reminds us that we are not alone in this journey of self-assessment. God’s Holy Spirit accompanies us in our desert experience as it accompanied Jesus during his forty days of self-assessment, meditation and testing. Without the Holy Spirit none of us would have the ability to change anything in our lives.
The prophet Joel reminds us, “Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.” God knows the heavy burdens that weigh us down, and he longs to lift them from our shoulders and from our hearts. Our God accepts U-turns, and Lent provides us the opportunity to assess the direction of our life and to begin turning around and heading in the direction God desires for us.
The readings for today remind us that we are finite. We are made out of dust and to dust we will return. Life is too short to be isolated from God and from each other. To love is to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. But rather than intense guilt and anxiety about our sins, Lent invites us to an honest assessment of life and a decision to mend our ways. Lent acknowledges that we live in a broken world. Even when we try our hardest to live by a code of ethics that respects the rights of others, gives God due reverence and honor, and treats our neighbors with justice and love, at the end of the day we are still broken, sinful individuals. This is the reality of our human condition. We are not yet the people God created us to be. We are under construction as many of the heroes of our faith remained under construction during their own time.
Take for example King David. David was chosen by God to succeed Saul as king. God promised David through the prophet Nathan that his name would be great, and that he would have a home and a kingdom that would last forever. The Messiah was to be a Son of David, a king whose kingdom would last forever. He was beloved by God and scriptures tell us that he walked in the ways of the Lord all the days of his life. This is a curiously positive appraisal of David, especially when we read Psalm 51, as we do in every Ash Wednesday celebration, and come face to face with his failures and sin.
David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, a faithful soldier in his army. When she became pregnant, David devised a plan to cover his sin. Uriah refused to lay with his wife out of loyalty to his fellow soldiers. David resorted to alcohol to weaken his resolve and have him lay with her in order to cover his own indiscretion. When that failed, he sent Uriah to the front lines where he was killed. David then took Bathsheba as his wife and had a child with her. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. Through the prophet Nathan, the Lord rebuked David with a story about a rich man who took a poor man’s only lamb. When David demanded punishment for the rich man, Nathan told him, “You are the man!”
David reacted with repentance, fasting and prayer: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offenses. Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.” Here we see the first truth about repentance: we ask God’s forgiveness knowing that God is loving and kind. God’s compassion is great. There is nothing we can do to clean ourselves. This cleansing has to come from God through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
David continues, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” The second truth about repentance is that ultimately sin is an offense against God. Yes, we hurt others and ourselves, but ultimately all sin is adultery against God. We betray the Father who loves us beyond all measure and turn to people and things that cannot save. David then affirms that sin is not just something we do, but the reality of our human condition, “Wicked from my birth, a sinner from my mother’s womb.” Like a centrifugal force, there is something within human nature that pulls us more and more toward ourselves and the satisfaction of our needs and wants. Luther called this condition, “homo incurvatus in se” or “humans turned in on themselves” (using the more inclusive plural form).
The third truth about repentance acknowledges the pervasiveness of our sin. Sin is not simply behavior but a condition. We are broken and unable to be fully obedient to God. We need outside intervention. “Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me and I shall be clean indeed.” Only God can forgive us and restore us. Only God can create a new heart in us and renew a right spirit within us. Repentance acknowledges that God is always willing to restore us and to free us from the enslaving power of sin. And we know, from the rest of David’s story, that God indeed forgave him and blessed his term in power and his descendants.
The question, of course, is simple: If David was such a sinner, why does Scripture hold him in such high regard? Perhaps it was his ability to acknowledge his sin before the Lord and his willingness to ask for forgiveness that makes him righteous. Perhaps it is not our perfectionist tendencies that appeal to our Lord, but our humility in acknowledging that we are broken, sinful individuals who need the Lord every day. Lent invites us to wear ashes with humility, to reconcile ourselves to God, and to come to him with bended knee. God is willing to accept us back into his fold, and to bless our life and the life of those around us.
This Lent, I invite you to an honest assessment of your life, and to a commitment to change small behaviors that distance you from God and others. We often think of change in grandiose terms. “This Lent I will make up for all injustices I have ever committed!” or “Out of penance for my sins, I will fast everyday and give up all carbs, sugars, alcohol, and evil thoughts!” If you have this level of commitment and resolve, good for you. But perhaps we are missing the point here. Perhaps small behaviors done in love will have more value over time than drastic movements done out of guilt. Perhaps adding small practices to gladden and improve the lives of others may end up being more significant over time than disfiguring our faces with weeks of fasting. Let me give you a few examples: Add a moment of quiet meditation to your day. Visit a sick friend. Bake a pie for your Rector (self-serving? Yes, but, hey, I am also a sinner!) You get my point.
Now, let us end with prayer:
Dear Lord, we are broken sinful people. Our passions and affections are often disordered. Forgive us our lack of faithfulness and obedience to you. Restore us to a right relationship with you through the sacrifice of your Son on the cross. Help us to be hungry for you every day of our lives. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Blessings to all, Fr. Roman+
