Ash Wednesday
March 2, 2022
Good Shepherd, Wells, MN
Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21
“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.” (Matthew 6.1)
Over the years, a number of people have said to me, “You’re our spiritual leader.” As I’ve taken that to heart and figured out what it means, I’ve discerned that it means that, as a leader, I “go first” and work on my own spirituality. But one of my many struggles as a pastor involves how to encourage you and help you grow in your relationship to God without coming off as a super-Christian who has it all figured out. Here’s a little secret: I didn’t learn in seminary how to grow in faith and deepen my walk with God. There were no classes on doing daily devotions or praying nor was there engaging in spiritual direction. I’ve had to learn as I go. One of the things I have learned is that when I do share ideas about growing spiritually, I must be honest about my own struggles and admit that I don’t have it all figured out. I’ve also come to realize that whatever “success” I have had is due to God, that God is always the hero in my stories.
Today, of course, is Ash Wednesday and the official start of our Lenten journey. This Lent we are inviting you to explore the practice of remembering Sabbath, an invitation we hear in the Third Commandment. As we go through this journey together, it will be too easy for me to make it sound like I have sabbath-keeping all figured out and it will be all too easy for you to feel guilty about not doing enough to keep Sabbath. That’s not the point of the series. It might be helpful to observe as one wag has who notes that this is the only commandment that we do not feel guilty about not keeping it yet feeling guilty when we do keep it. I think we need to unpack that sentiment this Lent.
So, here are a few things to keep in mind as we begin this 40-day journey to the cross and empty tomb. First, Jesus’ warning to not practice our piety before others doesn’t mean we shouldn’t gather for prayer, give of our resources, and even fast from time to time. Do you notice that Jesus is not telling us to do them because he assumes we already do them. The issue is how we do them. For example, several years ago I gave a sermon at an ecumenical service. A pastor from a different denomination gave the pastoral prayer afterward. Clearly this pastor thought I didn’t say the right things in the right, offering in his prayer almost a rebuttal. As someone else once observed, “Open your eyes, brother; you’re preaching.” Another example about giving alms: when I worked for Minnesota Fabrics as a store manager, we were required to donate 10% of our profits. However, the owners of the company told us we were not allowed to be recognized for it because then it would be advertising. That’s why we couldn’t sponsor sports teams. We gave because it was the right thing to do, not to be recognized.
So, with these things in mind, here’s some background and an overview of the series. First, do you realize that this is the longest Commandment of the Ten?
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20.8-11)
Second, this commandment provides a hinge between the “first table of the Law” (our relationship with God) and the “second table of the Law” (our relationship with each other). Finally, as a result, we need to know that the commandment is both personal and communal. In other words, sabbath-keeping is personal but it is not private.
So, next week we’ll explore the roots of this Commandment in the creation story, that as creatures who are created in the image of God we are to rest as God rested. The second Wednesday, we’ll explore how sabbath provides rest, refreshment, and a whole-hearted life. On March 23, we’ll discover how sabbath is a mini-Exodus, liberating us from the tyranny of endless work. Then, on the fourth Wednesday, we’ll see how sabbath frees us from our anxieties about not having enough. Finally, on April 6 we’ll explore more deeply the communal aspects of sabbath that were noted earlier.
So, a few reminders: Lent is an opportunity to remember that sabbath is a gift from God, not an obligation, and we are to open it and see what God is giving us. Also, as we think about repentance, we remind ourselves that to repent literally means to turn around and go the other way. God is inviting us to go in a new direction. None of us has this all figured out, but all of us can accept God’s invitation to grow deeper. I hope you will join me as we do this together. Amen.
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