Sermon Index
Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Ash Wednesday is a rather dirty worship service. We use ashes. We smudge them on our foreheads. We get our fingers dirty applying the ashes. It is hard to make a nice looking cross with my thumb.
I tried to think of a cleaner, better way to do it. I had a couple of ideas.
1. How about using a felt marking pen? It would be a nice, clear design. My fingers would not get dirty. It would not rub off when you put on your hat or scratch your head. All day long people who see you would know you were a Christian. And that is the problem. In the passage following today’s Gospel reading, Jesus said that when we fast, that is when we go about living out our religious faith, we should not be obvious. He said, “When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
2. So, my second idea is dead on arrival. How about a tattoo on your forehead? Some groups tell their members how to dress, how to cut – or not to cut – their hair, and other outward appearances. But Jesus says our religion is a thing of the heart. But of course, our behavior should tell everyone that we have Jesus in our heart. We do not have to have our faith written permanently on our forehead.
3. I did not want to get my hands dirty, so I thought about the felt pen. But how about applying the ashes with a paint brush? Japanese brush writing uses ink that is made from soot, which is why it is black. I have studied Japanese calligraphy, so I could do it very nicely. But then I realized that the cross of Jesus is not pretty. It was an ugly wooden thing.
And then I realized that the reason for using ash on Ash Wednesday is because it is dirty. Ash is a symbol of death. A tree is burned. A body is cremated. Evidence of life is destroyed. In the funeral ceremony we say, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” On Good Friday we realize that our sin is the cause of Jesus dying on the cross. Sin is the cause of all the problems of the world. And it is also the cause of our death.
When I put ashes on my forehead I realized that I am a sinner. I realized that I will die. I realize that my sin is dirty and ugly.
But the ashes on our foreheads are not permanent ink or a tattoo. We will go home tonight and wash our faces and remove the smudge. It is like baptism. Our sin is washed away and forgiven.
Of course for Jesus to remove our sin he had to die on the cross. It was not as simple as washing with soap and water. That is what we want to remember this Lent. We want to remember how hard it was for Jesus to forgive us – the suffering, the pain, the loneliness, the desertion, the mocking, the whipping, and the dying. His forehead was marked by the crown of thorns. His hands and feet were marked by the nails. His side was marked by the spear. In this we see the mark of love. It is love that cannot be washed off with water, rather the water of baptism makes a permanent mark on our hearts, on our souls.
So, we have our dirty smudges. Thereby we remember who we are, and we remember our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church