Ash Wednesday Homily 2015- Open My Lips

Psalm 51: 1-17

Open My Lips

Pisgah Ash Wednesday 2015

After Jesus was Baptized in the waters of the River Jordan by John the Baptist,

he went into the wilderness and spent 40 days there fasting,

and in that place of weakness and hinger, he was tempted.

These 40 days prepared Jesus for the mission that he was about to be sent on,

and for the suffering that he was going to have to endure at the hands of those in power who weren’t going to like the things that he was saying.

The 40 days in the wilderness were not a peripheral story,

but rather were necessary days in preparation for what was to come.

Jesus, perhaps more than anyone, needed to know himself…

needed to know how he would be tempted,

and needed to know just how strong he was.

The journey of Lent for us mirrors Jesus’ time in the wilderness,

a time of fasting and self-exploration.

A time of humble reflection with hopes that we might come out on the other side of the journey knowing ourselves better than we did before,

both our temptations and our strengths.

I mentioned this need for self-awareness on Sunday, and just did again, so let me be clear about what I mean:

I believe that most of us walk around in this world with an image of ourselves that might not exactly match the reality of who we are.

We have the limits of our own context in which to define ourselves,

but when those limits expand,

when we see beyond the borders of our own perceived reality,

then often our reality is destroyed.

My guess is that Joe, Lynn, and Linda will experience some of that over the next 10 days…

that the orphans in Kenya might become a mirror to them...containing an unfamiliar reflection.

After Jesus spent those 40 days in the wilderness,

then he returned and began to call disciples to follow him,

then he went into the cities and towns and began to heal and feed and forgive,

then he stood up in the synagogue and proclaimed, “Today, this has been fulfilled in your hearing”.

But, first, he needed the 40 days.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our 40 days…

days meant to prepare us for a night gathered around a Table where Jesus will tell us that we will betray, that we will deny him.

40 days meant to prepare us for a night in a garden,

where Jesus will find us sleeping while the enemy approaches.

40 days meant to prepare us for a slow march toward golgotha,

with a heavy cross upon our shoulders.

40 days to prepare us to watch him breath his last.

40 days to prepare us for the loneliest Saturday one could ever imagine.

And, 40 days to prepare us for the awe and wonder of an empty tomb.

These days are not to be done on a whim,

but they are needed so that we can find ourselves on that weekend completely aware of who we are in the story…

sinners in need of redeeming.

strangers in need of a home…

disciples in need of a messiah.

That’s what the ashes mean: they are a mark upon our forehead that reminds us that we are simply dust,

sinful by the very nature of our being…

trapped in a misconstrued, distorted view of the world…

where the suffering of the world is mostly kept at bay by the lies we tell ourselves.

Children in Kenya…Syria…Iraq…Afghanistan…Darfur…DRC…Egypt…Lybia…Mexico…New York…Detroit…Appalachia…Versailles…

hidden away from our reflection by an illusion of busyness…and a veil of ignorance.

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

We need the journey of Lent this year perhaps more than ever.

We need to take on the burden of the ashes,

to be reminded of the true meaning of our faith,

to be shaken back into reality so that when we arrive at the cross and see the very grace of God,

the we might know that we need it….

we need the cross…we need forgiveness…

for we are a people of horrific and abundant sin.

Lent is not supposed to be fun…

it is a long, slow trod, up-hill in every direction…

but if we skip it…if we don’t really do it…then how can we say:

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you have no delight in sacrifice;

if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God[d] is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Open my lips, O Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise…

the words of a broken and contrite heart…

Remember that you are dust….and to dust your shall return. Amen.