Sermon for February 17th (Ash Wednesday)

Isaiah 58, “Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?”

When I was in high school I tried fasting one time, or at least what I considered would be fasting. I skipped breakfast and lunch and, in the place of that food, I at peas, canned peas, and then drank all of the pea juice. And why did I do it you might ask? Well, you are not the first to ask that question and, seriously, I can’t say that I remember exactly why, but I do remember two important reasons: First, I was trying to better myself, psychologically, to see if I had the willpower to do it and, secondly, I thought that it would help me to lose weight—I wasn’t actually trying to lose weight, but I thought that it would have to help and that wouldn’t be bad. Thus began Steven Broers’ notorious high school pea diet which gained me the nickname “Peabody” among my friends and, certainly, created an aura of confusion around me for a short amount of time. Is that what God is talking about when he says that we are to come before him repentant and fasting?

Thus says the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”

I love Lent because it is a time to repent, to ask forgiveness from God and to turn from our sins: to change our minds about our bad behaviors and to stop doing them. You see, repentance is more than a change of mind, or even a change of heart, it is a change of direction. It is more than NOT doing something: holding your breath for 40 days until you can start right back up where you left off. It is deciding to stop doing something and to start doing something else. Not just to take a break, but to break away. But for many people Lent has become a poor man’s New Year’s Resolution. Already fallen off the track for that diet you started in January? Well then give up ice cream for Lent: I mean, it can’t hurt! Forty days of not smoking? Hey, that’s possible! And even if you can’t do it the whole time it has to be good for your lungs. Maybe if you make a concerted effort to get to church on Wednesday nights you’ll be off the hook for Sundays. Lent has become a time to work on our personal vices rather than following God’s Word and repenting from our sins. This isn’t a time to better yourself, but to take stock of your relationship with God and with others.

What does it mean to repent of your sins? As I said before, it means to change direction, to turn around, to turn away from your bad behaviors once and for all. So, the prophet Isaiah points out that God isn’t so much interested in you humbling yourself, but that you might lift up the humble. Rather than skipping a meal, cook a meal for someone who needs it, invite them over and eat less so that they have enough to be full. Send home the leftovers with them. God’s not interested in your losing weight; he’s interested in feeding someone who is hungry. Will you still lose weight? Perhaps. I’m always for starting a habit of Bible reading, but if this discipline is simply to better yourself, than you’ve missed the point. Read the Bible to someone you love and they’ll receive the benefit. Will you learn your Bible better? I hope so. It’s bound to happen. But repenting before God isn’t to build yourself up, but to follow God’s will and love your neighbors. God calls us to make Lent more than just about ourselves.

For this is the story of Lent, after all, not that Jesus came to be served, to show off his obedience and be glorified before his Father, but that he came to serve you and to give his life a ransom for many. His death on the cross was not to show off His glory, but to bring about your salvation. The point of Ash Wednesday is not that you put ashes on your head to show off your piety before others or to look the part of the guilty sinner. The time for bettering yourself is over, but hear the words: all you are is dust and to dust you shall return. Your chances for saving yourself ended when Jesus died alone. It’s time to turn away from yourself and start looking at the cross. Amen