Dust, Baptized and Beautiful - A Sermon for Ash Wednesday (except on Shrove Tuesday) 2023
GOSPEL: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“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.
2“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. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5“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. 6But 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.
16“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. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so 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.
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
It’s kind of ironic,
the choice of gospel lesson for Ash Wednesday,
except on Shrove Tuesday…
beware of practicing your piety before others,
Jesus warns.
It is ironic because, momentarily,
and very publicly
we will be marked with ashes.
You can’t miss someone
whose forehead is adorned with ashes
in the shape of a cross.
It is very public.
You might be lucky to see ministers
offering Ashes To Go
in public tomorrow.
You might see people in the office
or on social media,
or even television
marked with ashes publicly.
I believe Jesus is talking about motivation,
about the why…
Are we here so that
others can see our acts of piety?
Piety can also be translated as righteousness,
do we want others to see our acts of righteousness,
that we are good religious folks,
that we are doing the right thing?
Today is not about our piety.
Ash Wednesday,
except on Shrove Tuesday
is not about our righteousness.
It’s about God’s righteousness.
Any time of year,
our focus is not on us and our works
but about God’s work.
No act of piety,
no prayer,
no service,
no donation,
makes us right with God.
Only God and God’s righteousness
makes us right with God.
Lent is about repentance:
it is the season in which
we are called to return to God,
in preparation for Easter
and celebrating Christ’s resurrection.
Consider the first lesson -
the prophet Joel calls the people to repent.
We associate repentance with sin,
but this is somewhat misguided.
Absolutely we are sinners,
so we should just stop sinning, right?
Good luck with that…
Joel was likely written around year 430 BCE,
the prophet speaks to Israel
returning home after their exile.
The prophets were clear:
Israel was exiled
because they turned away from God.
Yet with the return from exile,
the focus is not on individual sin,
nor Israel’s sin.
The focus is on God.
As Israel’s exile is ended,
Israel is invited to return to God
so that God might save them.
The focus is not on Israel’s efforts of
righteousness or piety,
but on God’s ability to save.
Lent is a time for self-examination,
to consider our own sin,
to resist that which tempts us,
and this is good, to a point.
Like Israel,
We focus on the God
who saves us from sin.
We focus on Jesus;
we look to the cross of Good Friday,
and anticipate the resurrection of Easter Sunday.
We will soon enrol in Lent,
we will hear the invitation into
acts of prayer, fasting, good deeds,
love, sacrifice -
we are invited to practice piety
- public and personal
but we can’t make Lent about me,
and what I’m giving up,
or what I’m taking on.
We focus on the God who is active in us,
while acknowledging our reality.
The ashes we use
come from Palm Sunday branches
from years past.
The ashes are a sign of our mortality,
that we will die,
that we are dust,
and from dust we shall return.
The ashes remind us of our sin, our frailty.
That we are all connected.
Ashes remind us of who we really are.
I heard a definition of sin once,
that perhaps sin is trying to be
something you’re not.
I like that definition.
We can’t pretend to have it all together,
we can’t pretend we can save ourselves.
I can’t pretend to be better than you,
I can’t pretend to be less than you.
We can recognize today that we are mortal.
That we will die.
Being what you are,
being who you are
also means being baptized.
Baptism isn’t just something that happened
when we were babies that we can’t remember,
or some event from years ago.
Baptism is who we are,
and who God makes us to be.
We mix the ashes with oil,
so that we remember that,
while we are dust,
we are also the baptized.
Baptism is about hope.
Baptism says that death is not the end.
Baptism washes us clean,
and says our sin and frailty don’t define us.
Baptism gifts us with the Holy Spirit,
Baptism says that we are called to strive
for justice and peace in the world,
And this is all God’s work in us.
Baptism says I can’t pretend to do all this myself.
Ashes say that, yes, we are dust,
But God makes beautiful things out of dust.
Baptism says that
God makes beautiful things out of us.
May we repent,
returning to God
trusting in God’s power to save.
May our motivation
be less about my righteousness
and more about God’s righteousness
May we be who we were made to be,
dust, baptized and beautiful.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
