Lenten Perspective: Ash Wednesday Reminders

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Ash Wednesday Reminders

By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.

Genesis 3:19 (NRSV)

Turn me around, pick me up
Undo what I've become
Bring me back to the place
Of forgiveness and grace
I need You, I need Your help
I can't do this myself
You're the only one
Who can undo what I've become

From "Undo" by Rush of Fools

At the beginning of 2021, I realized that the Scripture passages prescribed for New Year's Day by the Revised Common Lectionary,¹ the three-year cycle of readings used by many churches, were the same for all three years.  I read all four of them and considered what reminders they might offer us at the beginning of a new year.  Recently I realized that the same is true regarding the passages for Ash Wednesday, so I thought I might consider what reminders these four readings might offer us at the beginning of the season of introspection and penitence we know as Lent.

"A Clean Heart"
(Psalm 51:1-17)

The Psalm for Ash Wednesday is the Fifty-first Psalm, the song of penitence written by King David after he was confronted for taking the life of Uriah, one of his most loyal soldiers, and utterly destroying the life of Bathsheba, Uriah's wife.²  I suspect that a younger David would have never thought that he would ever be capable of doing anything so cruel and selfish.  I also suspect that, once he was forced to face his crimes, he found himself shocked by his own actions.

David, now realizing that his sinfulness runs deeper than he previously thought, confesses, "Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me."³  With a greater understanding of the darkness lurking deep within him, he prays to God, "You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart."⁴  He asks God to cleanse him of his sin, praying, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."⁵  Realizing that he needs to be transformed at the deepest levels, he prays, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."⁶

Sometimes, like David, we don't know what is lurking deep within us until something brings it to the surface, and sometimes, like David, we don't know what we're capable of doing until we've already done it.  The Fifty-first Psalm reminds us that our sinfulness runs deeper than we realize, that we need God to reveal what is hidden within us, and that we need God to cleanse us and transform us at our deepest levels.


"Return" and "Be Reconciled to God"
(Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 and 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10)

The other Old Testament reading for Ash Wednesday is taken from the Book of Joel, in which the titular prophet proclaims, "Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing."⁷  Joel is speaking amid a national emergency which would have been understood to be punishment from God for the sins of the people.  The prophet calls on the people to return to God "with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning,"⁸ wondering, "Who knows whether he will not turn and relent...?"⁹

Similarly, in the Epistle reading for Ash Wednesday, the apostle Paul, speaking "on behalf of Christ," urges his readers in Corinth to "be reconciled to God."¹⁰  Reminding his readers of God's own work of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, he writes, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."¹¹  Paul goes on to proclaim to his readers, "See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!"¹²

Sometimes there are things in our lives that are not as they should be, straining our relationship with God.  The words of the prophet Joel and the apostle Paul challenge us to set such things right and assure us that, no matter how far from home we have strayed, God is always ready to welcome us back.


"Practicing Your Piety"
(Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21)

The Gospel reading for Ash Wednesday is excerpted from the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus says, "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."¹³  Regarding charitable giving, He says, "Whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you...  But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing..."¹⁴  Regarding prayer, He says, "Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret..."¹⁵  Regarding fasting, He says, "Whenever you fast, do not look dismal...  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face..."¹⁶

Repeatedly, Jesus tells us not to be like "the hypocrites" who want their acts of piety to be seen by others.¹⁷  The word hypocrite is derived from the Greek word hupokritēs which describes an actor,¹⁸ one whose profession is to play a part for an audience.  Jesus suggests that hypocrites are rewarded for their acts of piety when they are seen as pious by others.  He urges us to practice our piety discretely so that it is seen by God alone and to let God be the one to reward us for it.  Repeatedly He says, "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you."¹⁹

The Sermon on the Mount reminds us that, when we do something solely to be noticed by others, we miss out on what God wants to accomplish in us through the experience.


So what do these four passages remind us about the season of Lent?  The words of King David in the Fifty-first Psalm remind us that Lent is a time to look within ourselves and to allow God to reveal to us what we have tried not to see.  The words of the prophet Joel and the apostle Paul remind us that Lent is a time to set right the things in our lives that are separating us from God.  The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount remind us that Lent is a time to quietly practice our piety so that we may focus on our relationship with God.

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For more thoughts about what the Fifty-first Psalm teaches us about our sinfulness, see my 2016 Lenten Perspective "A Clean Heart."

For more thoughts about what the Sermon on the Mount teaches us about practicing our piety, see my 2014 sermon "A Brighter, Zestier World."


Notes:

1. The Revised Common Lectionary can be found here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu
2. 2 Samuel 11:1-12:14
3. Psalm 51:5 (NRSV)
4. Psalm 51:6 (NRSV)
5. Psalm 51:2 (NRSV)
6. Psalm 51:10 (NRSV)
7. Joel 2:13 (NRSV)
8. Joel 2:12 (NRSV)
9. Joel 2:14 (NRSV)
10. 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NRSV)
11. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NRSV)
12. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NRSV)
13. Matthew 6:1 (NRSV)
14. Matthew 6:2-3 (NRSV)
15. Matthew 6:6 (NRSV)
16. Matthew 6:16-17 (NRSV)
17. Matthew 6:2, 5, 16
18. Wiktionary: "Hypocrite"
19. Matthew 6:3-4, 6, 17-18

The photograph of the imposition of ashes was provided royalty-free by pxfuel.com.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.