Ash Wednesday
Luke 5:27-32
’Sign, Ashes = Repentance
27 ¶ After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me."
28 And he left everything, and rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there was a large company of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them.
30 And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
31 And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick;
32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."RSV
Grace and Peace to your from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
Two little boys were playing together one afternoon. They had not been playing long when the larger boy took advantage of his weaker playmate. Georgie, the smaller one, too proud to complain, withdrew some distance and sat by himself, manfully winking back the ready tears.
After a short time, the larger boy grew tired of his solitary play and called, "Say, Georgie, come back. I’m sorry."
Georgie, warned by previous experience, did not respond to the invitation at once.
"Yes," he replied cautiously, "but what kind of sorry? The kind so you won’t do it again?"
Our Ash Wednesday mediation this evening is about repentance. The ashes of this Wednesday remind us of our need to repent. The ashes remind us of the need to change our ways so that we won’t do it again, for that is what repentance really means.
Our theme tonight is how ashes are a sign for our repentance.
The Bible is filled with passages which speak about ashes and repentance.
"therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."" Job 42:6, RSV.
Job is speaking to God and is saying how sorry he is that he became angry with God.
"Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes." Daniel 9:3, RSV.
Daniel was repenting for the sins of the nation before god’s punishment would be felt by them.
"Then tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes." Jonah 3:6, RSV.
The king understood that he must repent and so he rose from his throne and covered himself with sackcloth and sat in a pile of ashes.
""Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes." Matthew 11:21, RSV.
Jesus is calling on the people of these two cities to repent as did Tyre and Sidon many years ago,
Ashes and repentance have long been associated in the Bible so it is appropriate that on this Ash Wednesday we speak of ashes and repentance.
As John Brokhoff says in his book Cross Purposes "Being conscious of sin, a person would repent and show his repentance sincerely by putting on sackcloth, put ashes on the head and engage in a fast. That is why the first day of Lent is called ’Ash Wednesday ’
It was a special day of repentance. People went to church where they were marked with ashes while the Pastor said: "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust’"to remind the people that the wages of sin is death."
Repentance is a time to be called from ones sin and return to God. But before this day can have any significance, one must think of ones self as a sinner. In our middle class society, that is a pretty tall order. For most of us think of ourselves as pretty good. We rank sin and tell ourselves we haven’t committed those awful sins, so we go around hurting our arms as we try to pat ourselves on the back so much. We must remember that our whole being is rooted and grounded in sin.
Luther said once while looking to Christ; "Thou art my righteousness and I am thy sin." Just think, what good is Jesus if there is no forgiveness needed? If there is no sin. there is no need of a Saviour.
A pastor demonstrated the subtle effects of sin as he talked about a rainbow. Then he reached into his pocket and took out a bubble blower kit. He dipped the wire hoop into the soapy water and began to blow bubbles. The kids ran around trying to catch the bubbles.
The pastor said, "In the sunshine all the colors of the rainbow are reflected from these bubbles. They are pretty and you want to catch and play with them, but when you touch them they burst and only a stain is left t on your hand. "
Then he went on to say, "Sin is like the bubbles, it is beautiful and pretty, innocent looking and you want them as you wanted these bubbles, but when you grabbed for the bubbles they burst, the same with sin. When you grab for sin. the pretty bubble burst, the beauty disappears and you are left with only the stain of sin on your hands, your body and your soul."
Each of us in our own way sin. We cannot help it. So on this Ash Wednesday, each of us needs to repent, to turn away from our sins. Hopefully you did that at the beginning of the service as you were given time to confess those personal sins in your life to God..
Repentance is the turning away from sin, turning around walking the other way, turning a 180 degrees away from sin, turning in a new direction. Repentance is really denying self. It is learning to master my self will, my desires whatever they are.
Repentance is to gain control again of your will not giving it over to evil. Repentance says you are sorry for your sins and are trying to live without committing those sins again. Repentance means a disciplined life. Not a life of ease where we fall back into sin whenever it is easy.
Repentance then leads to action. Action to deal with our sin and action as we have time to relate better to our neighbor. When we have our own houses in order, then we can reach out to others with Christ’s love.
However many times our attitude is that of Charlie Brown as seen is this Peanuts cartoon.
Charlie Brown make the comment that he’d like to be able to feel he’s needed. A friend tells him, ’Don’t forget Charlie Brown, that people who are really needed are asked to do a lot of different thing.’
To which Charlie Brown says, "Uh, huh, well, I’d like to feel needed and yet not have to do anything."
Repentance begs us to action. Action in turning away from my sins and turning to my neighbor and saying, I am sorry.
Our repentance should be seen in the light of love. Love for Christ and his love for us allows us to repent, to change because we want to please Christ by turning from sin then loving Christ through our neigbbor. This Ash Wednesday night of personal repentance and personal forgiveness happens out of love, pure and simple love, Christ’s love for us and our love for Him.
When you came to the rail to receive that personal forgiveness, could you feel the love of Christ free you from your sins, as you felt free, as a weight had been lifted off of your shoulder? So free, so full of love that you wonted to run, to jump, to love someone else?
Durwood Buchheim says in his book The Power of Darkness about Christ’s love: "Our lives ore not to be shaped so much by law as by God’s love. God loves by letting his rain falling on the just and unjust alike. That is the kind of love that shapes, forms and motivates our lives. Here is the spirituality or righteousness that exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees. It is the practice of love. It is a love which corresponds to God’s love.’’
Because we love Christ and He loves us, we are sorry for our sins. Because we love our neighbor as Christ loves us we are sorry for our sins committed to our neighbor.
John Brokhoff says in his book Lent a Time for Tears "But how does love make you feel sorry and say you are sorry for your sins? It is as simple as this; If we do not love a person, we do not care what harm comes to him. When we hurt people we love, we are sorry to the point of tears."
A man who knew that feeling was Al Johnson .
Not too many years ago newspapers carried the story of, a Kansas man who came to faith in Jesus Christ. What made his story remarkable was not his conversion, but the fact that as a result of his newfound faith in Christ, he confessed to a bank robbery he had participated in when he was nineteen years old.
Because the statute of limitations on the case had run out, Johnson could not be prosecuted for the offense. Still, he believed his relationship with Christ demanded a confession. And he even voluntarily repaid his share of the stolen money!
Al Johnson knew that the love of Christ which changed him also required him to do some action, he gave back the money when he did not have to.
True repentance, true love.
Because we love Christ, we can be moved to tears and confess our sins, our pride ,our self-righteousness and be sorry for hurting Christ.
Because we love our neighbor, be it a spouse, a child, a parent, a friend, we can be moved to tears and confess our sins, whatever they may be and be sorry for hurting our neighbor, be it a spouse, a child, a parent, or a friend
Because we love, we can confess, we can repent, we can receive the love of Christ to change, to turn away from our sins, to heap ashes of sorrow, as we die to self and selfish pride and rise to a new life through Christ’s forgivness in the waters of baptism daily.
Because we love, we who have been forgiven can be moved to action as we have ways to love our neighbor, be it spouse, a child, a parent , a friend.
Because we love, we have been given the personal absolution, the personal forgiveness of our sins by Christ and His love for us and with that we have been empowered to love our neighbor, be it spouse, a child, a parent , a friend.
Because we love, through the sign and seal of the bread andwine, the body and blood of Christ, we can find the strength to deny self, to discipline oursleves so that sin doesn’t occupy a major portion of our lives, so that love does.
Sign-ashes it does equal repentance as we die to self and rise in Christ’s love.
"but what kind of sorry? The kind so you won’t do it again?"
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale
