March 1, 2017
Ash Wednesday – The Ashen Cross

“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.” Matthew 6:1-6

“Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were the three pillars of piety for a devout Jew. All three pillars of Jewish piety are put together in these three teachings. All three teachings (almsgiving, prayer and fasting) have identical key phrases e.g. “truly I say to you, they have received their reward,” and “your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” “hypocrites.” All three acts of piety can easily be transformed to be acts of self glorification. All three acts of piety can be done not to glorify God but to glorify one’s self. The issue becomes one of motive. Many pious and devout Jews were doing the right thing but for the wrong motive. There is always the temptation for religious people to demonstrate their religiosity in order to receive praise, affirmation, and applause.

We, as religious people, are rightly concerned about our financial offerings to help the poor and needy. The Jews of the Biblical era were concerned about their offerings to God’s poor, and we Christians are equally concerned about our offerings today. How much shall we give? To whom? To which institutions? To which missions? What is the right amount for our household to give? As followers of The Way, we are encouraged to not do any deeds of love in order to glorify ourselves but to glorify God. Religious people often practice piety in order to look good and receive praise and respect from other people. Or people practice piety out of a sense of duty and obligation. By contrast, Christians are to do these pious actions, but do them privately and secretly.” (Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting, Edward F. Markquart)

Martin Luther stressed justification by faith through God’s grace – it is the center-piece of our Lutheran understanding of salvation. It is by faith that we are saved, not by our works. But this word justification has another connotation – it also means to grow closer to something. For example, in word processing, when we want to move our words on a page closer to one side or the other, we make sure that it is either right or left “justified”. Paul also used the word “faith” interchangeably with the word “listen”. In other words, “Justification by Faith” can also mean that we “draw closer to God by listening” – listening to God – listening with our full attention. Grow closer to God by listening to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And so we begin this season by returning to God’s word, by coming to the table to share in the Lord’s supper, by remembering our baptisms as we trace an ashen cross in the very spot where we were marked and sealed with the cross of Christ on our first day as God’s holy child, and by making a decision these next forty days to be more attentive to hearing God’s voice in our daily lives. Remember, just three or four days ago we heard God command us from the cloud on the mountain that we are to “Listen to Jesus” – to do this we need intentional quiet time in our lives. But first, we are reminded that we are dust, and that one day we will return to dust again. So we receive the sign of death on our foreheads, but yet we are even more alive in Christ. This is the great mystery of our faith. We die with Christ on that cross, yet through that death we have life. The cross seems to be a crushing defeat, yet it is the symbol of victory now held high for all to see.

Today collect one bottle of laundry detergent (small bottle) and bring it to church on Sunday.

Pastor Dave