Readings for Ash Wednesday:
Isaiah 58:1-12; Mt. 6:1-6, 16-21
February 17, 2010
The Rev. Karen Faye Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA
Thirty years ago, the United States was in the midst of an oil crisis. There was an oil embargo, the price of gasoline jumped astronomically, and people waited for hours to fill up at the gas pump. Rationing went into effect. This was a very difficult time for the people of the United States who had been driving large, gas-guzzling cars, never imagining that gasoline would become difficult and expensive to purchase. At that time, we were made aware of the limited resources of oil. We were told that our dependence on foreign oil made us vulnerable to issues like peace and national security. And we began to make changes.
But then after a few years, the oil crisis subsided and people forgot about our fragile earth and limited resources. We began to compromise our ethics and looked the other way in order to keep the oil pipeline from the Middle East flowing. Some thirty years later, we are experiencing the consequences of doing “those things we ought not to have done.” “We confess to you, Lord for our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts…for our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us.” [BCP 268]
As I read the biblical passages for Lent and enter into this season of self-reflection, I am overwhelmed at the insistent message to repent of my self-indulgent ways. Although I try to be a good person and do not feel responsible for all the poverty and depravity in the world, I do realize that am interconnected with a larger community and thus have responsibility for the common good. I realize that what I do on an individual level does have an impact, especially when 300 million other individuals do the same thing, like the over-consumption of oil and energy.
That is why the salvation of the world is not only an individual concern but also a societal concern. Since we are part of a community, our responsibility for the health of society extends beyond ourselves and our own. This is why the Church sets aside Ash Wednesday as an opportunity for communities of faith to come together in an act of communal repentance. I thank you for being willing to show up and do some deep reflection on the things we have done or left undone that has harmed our relationships and fellow human beings.
Ash Wednesday is a time when we remember that God is all loving and forgiving. But at the same time, we accept accountability for the fact that we just don’t fully get it and need to make some concrete amendments of life. We can only live so long with the lies and distortions in our life before they come back to bite us. Think 9/11.
In a few minutes, we will kneel at the altar and have ashes smudged on our foreheads. This is a reminder to each one of us that we are mortal and that our time on earth is limited. In this limited time remaining, how do you want the rest of your life to unfold? How do you want this world to unfold for your children and your children’s children? What is it about your life that you would like to change? Are you in harmony with God and all of creation? And if not, what issues do you need to work on so that your joy may be complete? Remember, we can only atone for the past by altering our future. Lent is a wonderful time to make those adjustments so that we can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
“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 perfect remission and forgiveness.” [BCP 217]
| Updated February 20, 2010 |
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