February 25, 2009
Grace Church
Rev. Robert E. Hensley

Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 103; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

      Let us pray.  In this, the church’s holy spring, we ask you, O God, to renew us.  With a gentle breath, blow from our lives the dust of sin, and make us your people again.  Lift us from guilt, and shame, and regret, to repair all we’ve broken, and give us the gift of repentance.  With the lengthening days, stretch our hearts, too, to be ready for your risen life; through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 
 

      Most of you know the ancient Egyptian story about a mythical bird which regenerates itself by incinerating itself.  The living Phoenix will literally make an offering of itself:  it carefully builds a nest, settles into it and then bursts into flame.  From the remaining ashes then arises a beautiful newborn bird. 
 

      Think for a moment of the courage that it must take to do this.  This magnificent creature knows that in order to create a new life, it must die.  Not only must it die, but it must die in one of the most horrific ways that we humans can imagine…burning itself until nothing remains but ashes. 
 

      Our Ash Wednesday fast offers us the opportunity of dying into new birth.  In our liturgy we are reminded of our lowly beginnings…that we come from dust, that we are dust, and that to dust we shall return.  The rite asks that we bring before God all of those things that are holding us back from becoming and being all that we are called to be in God’s image.  Instead of burning with fire, our service offers instead a ritual and litany of penitence.  If we take it seriously, this ritual and litany allow us to burn away those things with prevent us from feeling God’s love, and from becoming who we have been created to be.  Just like the Phoenix of Egyptian mythology, we are called to put the entirety of our lives into the nest. 
 

      Ash Wednesday calls us to inspect our lives.  We are to examine how we treat one another…how we care for this fragile earth…how we praise and give thanks to God.  And according to Jesus, we are to do this without fanfare.  So on Ash Wednesday, we are to take a close look at our lives and willingly throw them into the next of Lent.  And then during our Lenten observance, we are to allow our fasts, our rituals, our prayers and our studies to cleanse and burn away that which is holding us back, those things that are preventing us from growing into Christ. 
 

      In our gospel for this day, Jesus instructs us not to store up treasures on this earth.  There is probably no better imagery for us to use than to burn up our old and odd treasures that we have stored up in the forms of the hurts that we bear against one another, the anger that we allow to simmer behind false smiles; rumors that we allow to circulate; the finger pointing and shaming in which we participate; the inability to love ourselves and one another with forgiveness.  For some reason, we human beings take a perverse sort of joy in holding onto these things, treasuring the pain that they bring into our lives.  These treasures are filled with false power.  They give us the illusion of self-importance and control.  And then we hold onto them because we are fearful of the freedom that letting go of them will bring into our lives. 
 

      This year, during this holy season, I want to encourage you to make a conscious effort to fast from these behaviors…to give them up for Lent.  Isaiah suggests as much when he says that we must “…fast from pointing the finger.” In the letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul suggests that the people become reconciled to God.  The best and probably only place to start that process is to reconcile ourselves with one another.  We need to fast.  We need to abstain from indulging in rumors and hurtful actions.  We need to break our old habits of shaming and judging one another for whatever reason.  All of these things get in the way of our ability to focus on God’s incredible love for each of us.  They are obstacles to reconciliation with one another. 
 

      Our litany for this day gives us permission to let go of these behaviors.  The liturgy provides us with a place for confession and forgiveness.  We are encouraged to forgive ourselves, forgive one another, and yes, forgive God, and in turn accept God’s forgiveness into our lives. 
 

      With forgiveness comes the freedom of letting go of anger and self-pity.  When we let go of these things, we then have the energy to concentrate on feeding those who hunger for compassion, who thirst for understanding, who desperately yearn for help, just as Jesus fed the hungry, loved the sinner, and in turn offered forgiveness and compassion to all, absolutely all people. 
 

      The Lenten colors of purple and black and unbleached linen are somber.  They do not offer us the joys of the gold and white of Easter; rather they point toward them.  They remind us to look into ourselves…to burn away all that is self-destructive.  The colors remind us that this is a time for fasting from that which separates us from God.  By freeing ourselves of destructive behavior, we then in turn open ourselves to the love of God. 
 

      It takes a great deal of courage and faith to take an honest look at ourselves and then to humbly walk with Christ on this Lenten pilgrimage.  Yet we can do it in sure confidence and hope of the joy of resurrection and the new life which will follow.   
 

      If we walk this journey with honesty and integrity, we will rise with Christ on Easter morning, just like the Phoenix, a new and magnificent creation. 
 

      But knowing that Easter follows Lent does not make this journey any easier for most of us.   However, knowing that Easter follows Lent does add faith and courage to our journey of exploration of ourselves and of God. 
 

      From these ashes of today we can rise knowing that our dying to our old ways and our old life will ultimately bring eternal life with Christ. 
 

      The Phoenix knew that in order to survive that it would first have to die.  This paradox is at the heart and center of our Baptism, our Ash Wednesday, our Lent, and our Easter.  In order to live most fully, we must become new creations in Christ.   We must go through this dying in order to live as God calls us to live….fully, with joy, and with compassion for ourselves and for one another. Amen.