Ash Wednesday 2022

Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21

       ‘Beware of practising 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.  ‘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.

On this Ash Wednesday, may God’s gracious love guide us into Lent and deeper trust as we follow Jesus. Our faith practices are not about us or what others might think. Jesus commands us to practice our faith in ways that focus on God, not ourselves. Jesus calls us to share our practices with God. The first year I imposed ashes in an Ash Wednesday service as a pastor, I marked the sign of the cross on the forehead of a favorite youth. The moment was jarring. Marking the newborn child of friends surprised me with a harsh law about life. Later, surprised with emotion, I struggled to say the words to someone living with a terminal illness, “Remember you are dust, and to dust, you shall return.” In all our brokenness and finitude we do have a prayer to speak.

Prayer: Dear God, today we hear your command to repent and turn toward you. Empower us to intensify our struggle against communal and personal forms of sin. Deepen our trust in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen