Finding Faith ... in asking for forgiveness and truly repenting

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on March 2, 2022, Ash Wednesday.

This week's gospel: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Concerning Almsgiving

6 “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.

2 “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. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Concerning Prayer

5 “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. 6 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.

Concerning Fasting

16 “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. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 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.

Concerning Treasures

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[b] consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust[c] consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The message:

I cannot find my notes from last year’s sermon on Ash Wednesday, but I am certain that it began something like this: I can’t imagine that we’ll ever witness an Ash Wednesday as somber as this one.

Well, how naïve I was just a short year ago, when we were all under the impression that we just had to get to the summer months, and then we’d be out from under the specter of the COVID pandemic.

So do I dare say again this year? … I can’t imagine that we’ll ever witness an Ash Wednesday as somber as this one.

Let me think …

While less so now than in recent months, we are still under the specter of the COVID pandemic, wondering when it might be that we will find some kind of relief from a virus that has accounted for about 6 million deaths worldwide in the past two years and find our way back to normal patterns of living.

Meanwhile, our political discord at home here in the United States doesn’t seem to abate, as we are subjected to wave after wave of political invective from both sides of the spectrum.

Social media and other electronic media would like us to believe that we are a nation that has more differences than we do in common.

And now we continue to watch as the Russian president continues his siege on the independent nation of Ukraine, with civilian casualties mounting and a wide-scale humanitarian crisis building.

So, yes, maybe I was a bit premature last year in my assertion that Ash Wednesday 2021 might set the mark for somberness.

And this year, I shall keep that bold statement in my pocket so as not to make a fool of myself a second time.

As if we needed a reminder of the solemnity of today, Ash Wednesday, anyway.

We already know that Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. … And today, as Lent begins, Christians will focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of themselves for others.

This all kicks off today, with a set of scriptures that helps us remember our mortality, because that is after all what Ash Wednesday is meant to remind us of.

In a little while, you will proceed from your pews up here where I will affix a cross on your forehead made of ashes. I will utter the words to you “John … Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

So we already come to worship tonight expecting a somber tone. … But then again, it seems that there is so much more around us this year that reminds us of our inevitable mortality.

Death from disease, war, societal discord, financial instability. The list is long, and it seems that it’s always in our faces. … We cannot get away from it in this hyper-charged time of instantaneous information.

It’s enough to make one want to stay bunkered in at home, draw the curtains, turn off all of the electronics and grab a good book. … Maybe that would be enough to shut out the world that wants to continue to remind us about the fragility of our lives, about our inevitable immortality.

Faith Family, I know that some of you have worries about where we are in this world, in this particular time and space and environment.

Maybe you are more than a little concerned about the state of affairs.

Maybe you’re even frightened over what you hear, or maybe even by what’s happening in your own life.

So what I would like to share with you is that: Yes, we do gather together tonight to pay witness to the recognition of our own mortality.

And, yes, we gather to begin 40 days of reflection on Jesus’ impending crucifixion … but at the same time, it reminds us that at the end of those 40 days, there is Easter, the day that Jesus rose from his tomb.

Tonight, we are reminded that after the conclusion of Ash Wednesday, and the Lenten period to follow, we will arrive at Easter, our most joyful day of the Christian calendar.

Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, which means "spring." And the 40 days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry, a period in which Satan did not win.

So, as we gather tonight, under many clouds brewing on the horizon, we need to remind ourselves that this self-introspective path that we will walk for the next six weeks is to remind us that while we live in darkness much of the time, the sun always comes in the morning.

This Lenten path, especially in this year of suffering and strife, is a chance to focus on what is at the end of this journey. It gives us the opportunity to remember that yes, while we accept the ashes to be placed on our foreheads tonight, we also look with glee to Easter morning when Jesus will rise from his grave, and we will be able to sing, “He is risen! He is Risen! … Alleluia, he is risen indeed!”

Faith Family, Ash Wednesday also is a time for us to reflect on our own sinful nature and to ask for repentance for how we have wronged others. … And for me, I find comfort in that this year. … Maybe that seems weird to you.

But here is my thought process …

It is true that I can do little to change much of the vast and deadly events that are taking place around the world today. … And admittedly, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by that.

But … what I can do is to ask God for forgiveness for my own wrongs against others, and then seek repentance, which actually means a change in my own ways. … Not just cheap repentance.

Maybe, on this Ash Wednesday, while so many issues that bring us death rage on … maybe … just maybe … what might bring me even just a little peace and comfort is fully repenting and changing my ways so that I am truly walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Maybe if I don’t focus on all of the world’s problems -- or even this country’s problems -- but I instead focus on my own actions, my own ways of following Christ, then maybe this world will start to feel a little less scary, and that I’ll be able to focus on the joy that we’ll all feel in another 40 days.

Faith Family, if you are experiencing more grief than you have in past years on Ash Wednesday, I will not downplay that. … I know that you are not alone.

But I also think that God gives us a way out of that grief and worry and anxiety … and that is through asking forgiveness and seeking a change in our behavior -- which is what true repentance is.

No, you cannot individually impact wars overseas, or stop the pandemic by yourself, or be the one to solely heal the divisive political wounds in this country.

But you can ask for forgiveness tonight, and truly repent and then walk a little straighter in the footsteps of Jesus. And maybe that will bring you a little more hope and a little closer to that jubilee that will take place on Easter.

And maybe that is all that we can ask as faithful followers this Ash Wednesday.

And that is the Good News for this Ash Wednesday, 2022. … Amen.