A Homily for Ash Wednesday

 Isaiah 58:1-12/Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

March 2, 2022

            From dust we came and to dust we will return. 

            In an hour or two, we will leave the church. We will get in our cars to drive home. Some of us may stop for gas or a few groceries. And wherever we stop, and whoever we meet will see this sign of the cross on our foreheads or on our hands. They may wonder what it is that we’ve done to ourselves. Some may mistake it for a smudge of dirt that looks oddly cross shaped. Some folks may ignore us and the cross on our foreheads altogether. But some people may suddenly remember that today is Ash Wednesday – that strange day that some Christians observe, and others don’t, that Christian day that refers to a practice of repentance that doesn’t really make sense in today’s world.

            In an hour or two, we will go home and wash the ashes away, watch some tv, or read, or just go straight to bed, and wake up tomorrow to return to our regular days. But if we are paying attention and trying to practice what we preach – Amy – then we know that even if the ashes are not visible, we have moved into Lent, that season of the church year when even as the days get longer and lighter, our way becomes darker and narrower, leading step by step to the cross.

            My daughter refers to Ash Wednesday as that day in church when we all proclaim, “Hey! We’re all going to die!” And she doesn’t like that. When I was her age, I would not have liked that either. But I understand now that Ash Wednesday is not just about death, it is a reminder about what life should be, what life is meant to be. It is a reminder not only from where we came, from dust, from infinitesimal specks of stars, but also to Whom we belong. We come from God and to God we return.

            I find this a most humbling and powerful day. On this day we wear the visible sign of our repentance, of recognizing that we fall far, far short of the people God created us to be. On this day we consider the ways in which we have loosed the bonds of injustice from others and the ways we have not.

            On this day we remember that life is short, that death comes for us all, and that while we lean on the promises of life after life, we are also called to do God’s work in the here and in the now. In a world where war and violence are on display on our televisions, our phones, our computers, we wear these ashes to remind us of our call to be peacemakers, to work for justice, and to live in righteousness.

            This is a humble day, not a day for shame or diminishment, but for humility. No matter how much we think we have control over our lives, over our homes, our jobs, our families, this day reminds us that we are called to trust rather than control, to believe rather than doubt, to see the world through the lens of faith, even if our faith is fragile or faltering.

            And on this day, we are given the chance to see what the world can be. We hear the ancient words of the prophet, of the gospel, the psalmist, and we get a glimpse of what God wants for us, what God hopes for us, where our treasure is, and what it would be like to repair the breech, to restore the streets, to live in the lush greenness of a watered garden.

            I guess Phoebe is right. This is the day when we proclaim that, “Hey! We’re all going to die.” But it is also the day when we can proclaim that the time we are given is precious beyond price.  It is the day that we remember that God wants us to live fully in this life, in this time, in this place. Yes, we are all going to die, and there are people on whom I have imposed ashes who are no longer here. But God did not create us solely so we could trudge through life toward death, but so we could do the work of the kingdom now.

            So, consider what you truly treasure now. Offer your food to the hungry now. Loose the bonds of injustice now. Let the oppressed go free now. Be peacemakers now. Restore the streets for people to live on now. Repair the breach now. Live the life that God has called you to live now.

From dust we came. To dust we will return.

In life and in death, we belong to God.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.