Ash Wednesday - "Secret Stuff"

Rev. Debbie Cato

Matthew 6:1-21

The Way of the Cross

Peace Presbyterian Church

February 18, 2015 – Ash Wednesday

God of mercy, you promised never to break your covenant with us. Amid all the changing words of our generation, speak your eternal Word that does not change. Then may we respond to your gracious promises with faithful and obedient lives; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Secret Stuff

You may have noticed that we’ve laid a purple cloth over the communion table with a purple cloth and we've draped purple fabric over the cross. Purple is the liturgical color for Lent, symbolizing both the sovereignty of Christ and repentance from sin.

Traditionally, Lent is observed with fasting and prayer and a renewed determination to eliminate sin from our lives. It is a somber period of self -reflection, denial, preparation and penitence as we prepare for Easter, the day that Christ conquers death. Some people don’t like to observe Lent… they don’t like the somber nature of the season; they don't like the darkness; the introspection. It's more fun to go straight to Easter. Straight to the resurrection. Straight to the celebration. But how can we celebrate the resurrection if we haven’t lived through the crucifixion? How can we possibly feel the true joy of Easter morning without walking the way of the cross with Christ?

Yet, Jesus reminds us that we must be cautious. There is a right way and a wrong way to practice spiritual disciplines. He warns us that righteousness can be harmful when it becomes self-glorifying; when it becomes about us rather than about God. Jesus is talking about engaging in things like charity, prayer, and fasting in such a way that draws attention to our actions. Jesus rejects public notice.

Deep, heartfelt concern for other people is part of righteous living, but in this text, Jesus warns us against showing that concern in irresponsible ways. For example, a gift of money can certainly help people. But when it's given in an ostentatious way, the righteousness of the act is canceled out by the flashy way it was given. God knowing what we do, and why we do it must be enough. The reward for private acts of good is greater closeness with God; not public recognition.

Jesus isn't content to just talk about acts of mercy. He is also concerned with how people pray – and so he provides instructions. This is Jesus’ earliest teaching on prayer and he stresses privacy first of all. Don’t pray for show, he says. God meets us in the secret places.

We should not permit the press of life’s busyness to crowd out the need for daily fellowship with God in prayer. God is always near, yet Jesus knows that we especially draw near to God when we have privacy; when we are alone. For Jesus, prayer is not only living with a sense of God; it is an attempt to say words to God in a private conversation. We pray to a living person – to the living God. He wants to hear from us.

And Jesus says, “don’t go on and on and on.” Don't think the length of your prayer makes you more righteous. God already knows what’s on our hearts. Does this mean we don’t need to pray if God already knows? No! If the Father did not know, He would not be God! But God who already knows the situation invites us to freely come and talk with him about it. God is not a reluctant listener. We don’t have to convince him to hear us. God yearns for us come to him in prayer. But keep your prayers simple and to the point.

Look at the prayer Jesus gives us as an example. Notice that Jesus’ example is short and simple and its’ primary focus is on God -  your kingdom come; your will be done. This is how we are to pray.

And this idea of forgiveness. When you look at the Greek word that is translated as trespasses or debts, it also translates as mistake.

“For if you forgive others their mistakes, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your mistakes.”

That makes me gulp a little bit. When we say sin or trespass or debt, it’s pretty easy to distance ourselves. But mistake – we all make mistakes!

The point is, no matter how good a person we are; no matter how good a Christian we think we are – we all sin; we all make mistakes. After all, we're only human! And so is the person who hurts us; offends us. It is our responsibility to forgive because we have been forgiven. We cannot ask God to forgive our sins – our mistakes, if we have not first attempted to forgive the mistakes of others. This reminds us that forgiveness is both a tremendous spiritual privilege and a great social responsibility.

And then, Jesus gives us illustrations around piety and righteousness in our relationship with ourselves. It's tempting to subtly advertise our personal disciplines – to show how devout we are. The motive can be genuine - to be a witness and to encourage others to be more disciplined. But we have already seen that Jesus is not interested in this kind of witness. The spiritual disciplines we choose to engage with are for God’s eyes only, not for our own gain.

So as we enter into this season of Lent – this forty day period of piety and repentance let’s commit to living differently during this time; to taking an honest look at our lives. Let’s commit to deepening our relationship with God through increased prayer and study. Let’s commit to honestly examine the sin in our life and repent so that we can be forgiven. Let’s commit to generously forgiving those who have grieved us. Let’s commit to healing and restoring broken relationships. Let’s commit to being intentional about being charitable to others. Let's commit to doing all these things for an audience of one - God. Let's commit to do these things so that when Easter morning finally comes, we can look back and say quietly to ourselves:  "These last forty days have changed me. I've grown deeper with God and He has transformed me.” Amen.