Readings
for Ash Wednesday Year B:
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21; Collect BCP 264
March 1, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Three years ago, on a warm summer evening, I was driving back from the Santa Cruz Board Walk with my niece and her friend who were sitting in the back seat of the car. It was about 9:30pm at night. Just as I was ready to turn onto 280 North from Highway 17, the car ahead of me hit something in the road. It spun around and headed directly at me. I pulled over into the break down lane as quickly as possible, but so did that car whose headlights were beaming into my face. As the car was about to crash into us I yelled out, “We are all going to die” and prepared for the impact. By the grace of God, her car came to a stop 2 inches in front of mine. It was a frightful moment that I will never forget. It was a moment when I came face to face with my mortality: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
In a few moments, you will be invited to come up to the altar for the imposition of ashes. A cross of ashes will be placed on your forehead (as a sign of your mortality) with the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” And as we come to grips with our limited time here on earth, we also need to ask ourselves the following questions:
- Am I living the life that God has called me to live?
- Are my all relationships in good order or am I alienated in some way?
- How did the world get in such bad shape?
- And in what ways have I contributed to this worldly darkness through my own actions of self-centered behavior?
Ash Wednesday is the day on which we as a community of faith, come together and make a corporate confession of those thing that add to the darkness in our lives and in the world. It is a time of truth telling, a time of hope. Why a time of hope? When we take the first step to admit our part in contributing to the pain, sorrow, and alienation in the world, there is hope for a new creation, a new world order. Reconciliation can make all things new.
In our first reading from the Holy Scriptures, the prophet Joel puts out a plea to the Hebrew people: “Return to the Lord your God with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil. Sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation.” [Joel 2]
And so on this Ash Wednesday, we call together a solemn assembly; to gather and sanctify the congregation in an attempt to make things right. This desire to reconcile to God and to each other, is a recognition that both we and the system are broken. In order to repair this alienation, Christians engage in the sacrament of penance, or reconciliation, which can be described as a five step process. When we sincerely practice these five steps of reconciliation, brokenness can be healed, trust restored, and a new creation made possible. Let me review with you the five steps of reconciliation:
1. Confession: This is the admission of guilt, the step to truth. In order to do a thorough confession, we must review the many aspects of the human condition. In today’s service, we will examine our conscience by reciting a litany of transgressions that is common to most people. [See BCP 267-268]
2. Contrition of the heart: This is a heartfelt sorrow for the harm committed. When we are grieved for those things done or left undone, we are better equipped to act differently in the future. Ashes are a symbol of a contrite heart as well as a sign of our mortality.
3. Repentance: This is a change of mind (a turning away from alienating behavior and thinking) and our return to righteousness. In this step, we turn away from the darkness and into the light, calling upon God’s grace to help turn us around and cleanse us from distorted thinking.
4. Restitution: This is the “making good” of harm done, as far as this is possible, leading to the establishment of a new community. Some people look at this step as old fashion penance. But in reality, it is an attempt to create new bonds of trust and affection by restoring what was taken away.
5. Absolution: God forgives us through grace, allowing us to begin again. Absolution releases us from the burden of having done wrong (i.e. guilt) and gives us a new spirit that is life giving. In some religious traditions, the priests ensure the people of God’s forgiveness while in other traditions, the knowledge of God’s grace and forgiveness is sufficient.
“Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lies and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” [BCP 264]
| Updated 3/6/06 |
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