26 February 2020
Text: Matt 6:1-21 (Joel 2:12-19, 2 Pet 1:2-11)
In the name of +
Jesus. Amen.
The
celebrations are over. The feast has
drawn to a close. Our carnival, the
farewell to the flesh, has ended. We are
now in a different season, a time of introspection. The feast has given way to the fast.
Now
is the time to examine ourselves and heed the call to repent. It is a time of discipline and
self-denial.
Of
course, none of us likes this. We would
much rather continue having parades and king cakes and parties year round. But real life doesn’t work that way, dear
friends. Not in this fallen world. As the preacher says in the Book of Ecclesiastes,
“to everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”
There
is a time for the feast, and a time for the fast. There are times of plenty, and times of want. There are times of joy, and times of
sorrow. There are times of putting our
feet up, and times of putting our nose to the grindstone.
The
Lord speaks through the prophet Joel to us this very day, brothers and sisters:
“Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love.”
“Blow
the trumpet in Zion,” He says. “Consecrate
a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the
elders; gather the children, even nursing infants.” And that is what we are doing here, dear brothers
and sisters.
The
Lord has gathered us here to pray. And
just as He has marked us with the sign of the cross at our baptism, he has
reminded us, also with the sign of the cross, that we are dust, and to dust we
shall return. That black ashen smudge is
a reminder of what we so often like to forget: because of our sins, we are
mortal. Because of our transgressions,
our world is in chaos, filled with bickering, plagued by violence, and filled
with pain. And it is not someone else’s
fault, dear friends. That ash on your
forehead is a reminder that you have contributed handsomely to our predicament,
and by your own fault, your own most grievous fault, you have stored up for
yourselves the righteous wrath of God.
And
so we have consecrated this fast to plead with the Lord for mercy, for “Who
knows whether He will not turn and relent.”
We
are being called to generosity, dear friends. We are called to think less of ourselves and
more of others. We are called to use our
resources – whether they be our money or time or work – for the sake of those
who need it: our families and our community, our church and our neighbors – and
even our enemies and those who hate us and persecute us. We are called to love – and love is not turned
in on itself, but love looks outside of itself. It is not someone else’s job. It is our job. If you are not supporting your church or the
needs of others, now is a good time to start. Even a dollar a week is a discipline that
everyone can afford.
Jesus
says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do
not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.”
And
if you are generous in your support of your church and of those in need – you
are called to humility, as our Lord says, “Thus when you give to the needy,
sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the
streets, that they may be praised by others.”
We are called to do our good deeds in secret. For if we give offerings, or pray, or fast –
but we are interested in being praised or seen by others – we have missed the
point. And in fact, that kind of
self-interest is not love, but rather a kind of lust for approval of men. And as much as we like the praise of other
people, look around. The very people whose
opinions you cherish are marked by the same cross of mortality, the same reminder
of sin, just as you are. The opinion
that ought to matter to us is our Father’s opinion – and He sees through all of
our hypocrisy and pretension; He cuts to the heart and sees what poor,
miserable sinners we all are.
So
each one of us is called to repent. We
are called to deeds, not mere words. We
are called to give generously, not put on a show. We are called to serve God with integrity, not
by way of appearances.
But
there is still good news amid the fast. For
the fast leads once more to the feast. Lent
makes its way to Easter. And even the Sundays
in Lent are still times of feasting, a break in the fast, an opportunity to
rejoice in what our Lord has done for us by dying and rising, by taking our
sins to the cross, and winning for us divine pardon and everlasting life. For the ashen cross on your forehead traces
the very same cross that was placed upon your forehead when the waters of Holy Baptism
washed you clean from sin, and delivered you from death. Yes, we are dust, but we are also souls
created in the image of God. Yes, we
will return to dust, but we will also rise to newness of life, in the flesh, in
the “resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
Our
work is not in vain. Our resistance against
the devil is not for nothing. Our
struggle to lead lives of holiness is a holy quest. Our stepping up of our offerings to church and
to those in need will bear real fruit in the kingdom of God – for us, and for
all of those in need of sharing in the blessings with which our Lord has
blessed us.
And
He has indeed blessed us, dear friends. We
have roofs over our heads. We have food
on the tables. We have a country that is
prosperous and free. We have our loved
ones. We have this beautiful sanctuary
where the Lord provides us with the Gospel and the Sacraments. We have salvation as a free gift. We have the opportunity to grow in the Word
of God and in prayer. We have the privilege
to be of service to Him and to our neighbor. And we have the feast to look forward to when
this time of penance yields to the time of celebration yet again.
Let
the words of the apostle Peter guide us through this forty day Lenten journey
that will culminate on Good Friday and will lead us to Easter Sunday: “Make
every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and
steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and
brotherly affection with love.”
And
even though we are not saved by our works, our works nevertheless help us to
grow in faith. And we are saved through
our faith. This is why St. Peter says, “If
you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way there will be provided for you
an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
And
so look at the crosses on your forehead and on the foreheads of others. And indeed, remember, O man, that you are
dust, and to dust you shall return. Let
this reality spur you on to repentance and good works for the sake of the
kingdom. But remember something else, O
man, remember dear brother, dear sister, that you are marked by the cross in
remembrance of your baptism. The soot of
sin and death has been washed away by the blood of our Lord and by the reality
that it was the Father’s will that you were baptized. You have been called out of the world: the
fallen world of sin and death. Let us
fast as a reminder of our Lord’s cross, and let us look forward to the feast:
this coming Sunday, then the feast of Easter, and finally the feast that will
never end as we are seated at the table in eternity – when all fasting, all
pain, all sorrow, all sin, and all death will be remembered no more! Let us remember the Lord’s love and mercy,
now and even unto eternity.
Remember,
O man. Amen.
In the name of the Father
and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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