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Ash Wednesday Isaiah 58-1-12 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Gospel according to Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 ‘Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ‘Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our
debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil
one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses. ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the
hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are
fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast,
put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by
others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you. ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and
where thieves do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recently I gave a talk to a group of lawyers at a Continuing Legal Education
event entitled, "Issues of Faith and the Practice of Law." During my
talk, among other things, I urged them to live intentional, reflective lives.
That’s not so unusual for me; I’m a priest, and encouraging people to live
intentional, reflective lives is sort of my stock in trade. But one man came up to me during a break and said, "I’ve been to lots
of legal education events where they taught us about how to practice law, but
until today I had never been to a legal education event where I was encouraged
to reflect on how I live my life." Well, I’m sure he’s right. In the day-to-day world of work, and dinner,
and picking up the dry cleaning, and getting the kids to school, and meetings,
and deadlines, there aren’t many places or times that encourage us to reflect
on how we live our lives. If you want to be intentional and reflective about
your life, you have to find the space, and make the time. You have come to a space set apart for that endeavor. Lent is a time
that the church sets apart for that holy enterprise of living an intentional and
reflective life. And you have carved an opportunity for yourself out of the
frenetic noise of everyday life by coming to this place, at this time, to
observe Ash Wednesday. Your Lent is off to a good start. Because Ash Wednesday is all about being
reflective and intentional about our lives. First, we odd creatures who deceive
ourselves so easily need to be reminded of the most simple, basic thing. We need
to be reminded that we are creatures, that we were created. That seems so easy,
so obvious. But how easy it is for us to slip into living like we are the
creators, like with our laptops and palm pilots and cell phones and cars and
planes and microwaves and Global Positioning Units, that we have created this
life. And Ash Wednesday whispers, "God has created us out of the dust of
the earth." We are also reminded that as creatures, we, all of us, every one of us, fall
far short of God’s standard of perfect love, perfect relationship. We odd
creatures who deceive ourselves so easily need to be reminded that we need our
Creator, that we need God’s grace. And so we will kneel, something most of us
don’t do anywhere else, and, offering to God our troubled spirits, our broken
and contrite hearts, we will say over and over, "Have mercy on us,
Lord." Finally, we odd creatures who deceive ourselves so easily need to be reminded
that time is precious and limited. How easy it is for us to slip into living as
if we have time unlimited. Dr. Bernie Siegel received a poem from one of his
cancer patients entitled, "The Good Thing About Cancer." It goes like
this: The good thing about cancer is that it speaks in short sentences. I listen attentively as malignancy whispers: Applaud yourself. Hold his hand longer. Hug her. Buy it. Say it. Touch. Kiss. Smile. Scream. Laugh. Cry. Enjoy. Live. Yes. Live. Yes. Live. Yes. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall
return," and live. The Rev. James H. Pritchett, Jr. St. John’s Episcopal Church, College Park,
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