February 9, 2005 At Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK
Joel 2:12-18 + 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 + Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
“We are ambassadors for Christ” says Paul.
We have heard that proclamation every Ash Wednesday of our lives.
because these readings never change. They are always the same.
What Paul asserts ought to give us a tremendous sense of purpose and pause. We participate in God’s work of salvation.
The Covenant we have makes a partnership in faithfulness.
Our failure to understand what Paul proposes is the focus of this season. Living the vision of Christ is still not a way of life embraced by this world;and so we still make a need for war, the poor are still with us, hatred and divisions are real, unfair judgments are routine, our own security is placed well over the needs of others, lust for power still motivates the hearts of many.
In the midst of all that, we shall today wear a powerful sign of eternity; the sign of a life different than the one we often choose to live.
It is the sign of the cross, the sign of a change of life and a return to the Gospel. This is not a simply a season for self-denial,
it is a season for changing one’s heart. It is not about simply about penance for the sake of penance, but about clearing through the clutter of our lives and learning how to live the faith we profess.
The penance we accept this day: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting
are to be done in ways that change the heart and deepen our commitment to God and to others because we are ambassadors.
The state of the world in which we live calls us to these three practices not for the sake of Lenten piety but because they are our only way to peace.
The crushing poverty of this world requires that we share our prosperity! This is no longer a matter of “charity”. It is a matter of Justice. We must give or we shall sink into a pit of selfishness that will rob us of human dignity and ultimately our own identity and salvation.
Eating less is not a matter of losing weight or being physically fit.
It is the way to remember that some have not eaten at all,
and eventually, fasting may curb a consumerism that is consuming us.
Prayer is not a matter of asking for what we want when we’re afraid. It shapes us into a grateful people who sing the praise of God at every hour of the day. Gratitude becomes us, and it reflects the grace that stirs in the soul of those Baptized into Christ.
We are ambassadors of reconciliation, of peace, of hope, and love.
This Lent holds the promise of new life for us, and it becomes the dawn of salvation. “Return to me. Rend your hearts, not your garments.” says our God. “Turn away from sin,and be faithful to the Gospel.” says the Church. “Lord, Have Mercy.” says the repentant.