Ash Wednesday Meditation

Meditation 

Psalm 51:1-13

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

The season of Lent has finally arrived. It is later this year than most. But, in the sense of the Divine timing, it is just in time for us. 

It comes just in time for us to consider who we have been, who we are now, and can we face the future with hope? 

Psalm 51 recalls the period in the life of King David, the one who was so loved by God, who in the single furious Chapter 11 of Second Samuel, he does a great job of breaking all 10 commandments in heroic style. The thing with David is, in Chapter 12 he was able to see and confront his sinfulness, and beg for forgiveness. 

You and I, we are not kings and rulers. We do not have a whole company of “Yes Men and Women” indulging our whims and fascinations. The sins we commit on a regular basis are so much smaller. We may laugh at those who cannot miss a day at the video poker machines, or never pass up a trip to the gambling boats, while those temptations never even make us turn our heads. 

Lest we feel too comfortable, and too self-congratulatory, the gospel tells us to be careful about taking too much pride in the trappings of piety. On the plane to the Holy Land there were a large number of Ultra-Orthodox Jews. They made a great show of evening prayer and morning prayer. The overhead bins were opened, so that the appropriate prayer outfits could be used. They have different outfits for different prayers. 

There are a variety of Ultra sects, and they have distinctive garb. Quite a bit more elaborate than matching bowling shirts. Some wrapped leather straps up their arms and tied and attaching a small box on their head, before putting on the prayer shawls and wide brimmed hats. Some prayed as a group in the back of the plane, while other small knots moved to locations on the north, south, east, and west of the plane successively. 

Once we arrived in Jerusalem, our hotel was opposite the Old City. Each morning were awakened by the Muslims’ loudspeaker chanting, the Jews Horns blowing to announce the Sabbath morning prayers, and of course, the Christians on Sunday rang every bell they could find as loud as they could for a full five minutes. At breakfast I asked our tour group, “If you don’t have an outfit, or an audience, or a loudspeaker, or a big bell, are you really praying?”  It was one of the times where you have to simply acknowledge, “You are not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.” 

Times are changing, and certainly there are things that ought to change. Still, all change is not good. And while all change is uncomfortable, all change is not bad. We need to be vigilant and support that change that brings life, and resist that change which is motivated by greed and selfish interests. 

2017 promises to be a year of great change. The new White House Administration has plans to make sweeping changes in the fabric of our society. The Republican Congress has their own favorite priorities in mind. In the midst of claims and counter claims, it is hard to keep clear about what bills are proposed and what are passed. What Executive Orders are issued and which are rumored, and which have been stayed by the courts. The pace of change and proposed change, even to fundamental and important parts of our community life together, is dizzying to say the least. 

The wheels are in motion to bring a new pastor to Union Congregational UCC. A new pastor always does things differently than the one who came before. The new pastor will please see of the folks, and encourage them to be more active at the church. Some of the folks will initially be disappointed that the pastor is not enough like Chuck or Michelle or Kirk or James. 

Pleased or not, there will be a new sense of direction, and different awareness of the presence of God, and maybe new temptations. 

We might be tempted to reject any and all sense of change. We do that sometimes. We look for rules that have not been enforced in ages, in order to try to get our way. 

We look for vigorous way to protect our personal interests, and label anyone who opposes our opinion as an enemy. Once we begin applying labels, and sorting people into groups that we choose, we make them objects of our own logic rather than partners in our community. And the path to sin opens wide. 

In this day and age, it is even more likely, when confronted with change, to just shrug our shoulders and walk away. It is too much like work to be concerned, express an opinion, maybe get spoken to harshly, or spoken about in the Parking Lot. It is much easier to just stay home. 

But I believe that being here together adds value to our lives. I believe that we cannot just survive change, but thrive in the rich environment of things shaken and stirred. 

And that is where I want us to focus this Lent. We are not consumed with the sins of our past, though if you have trouble with your past I am willing to help you get through that. But for most of us, we need to increase our awareness of just how vulnerable we are to temptation. We have to be on guard against de-personalizing opposition opinions. We need to be bring our best selves to evaluate new directions and changes, and address how the changes challenges the vulnerable among us. 

Change is inevitable, but we can influence the shape and scale of the change to make it best represent the values we see in the scriptures, and we learn to appreciate within the commitments we make with our faith partners. The closer we are to the change, the greater the power of our influence and opinion might be. 

I suggest that we adopt a posture of confession. By that I mean we are willing to have a second look at our own actions and motivations, and realize we are vulnerable to sins against others. This posture of confession, means we are willing for God to reveal our weaknesses, so that we might begin to get better.

We begin to get better when we are willing to change, and participate in the change. All the passive-aggressive skills can help you self-justify staying home, and avoiding conflict, and standing pat; but it will never permit you to repent and enter the kingdom of God.  

So then change is an integral part of Lent. Don’t give up chocolate, just to gorge on Cadbury Eggs Easter morning. Give up talking about others for Lent, and then stay with that new discipline going forward. Don’t promise to avoid disagreements, but promise to avoid being disagreeable. There are times when God needs you to speak the truth so that the love of God can spread some light in the world.

Let us pray that God may reveal our weaknesses to us, before we do too much damage to our community and God’s reputation. May our posture of confession, permit us to see our own actions with humility. And may we be willing to participate in the season of change - not with anxiety and withdrawal, but - open to the possibilities to influence the world with the love of God. Amen.