Let me begin with words that God expressed through a man who lived several hundred years before Christ was born. They can be found in Isaiah 58, and they seem to be addressed to a people who are trying to please God on their own terms! They ask me for decisions, God said (Isa. 58:2-3) and they wonder why they don't hear from me. "Why have we fasted,' they ask, 'and you haven't (even) noticed?" Yet, even when they fast, they do as they please. They continue to live as if it's all about them. They walk around with ashes on their heads, but they're filled with a sense of self-righteousness and entitlement. They attend church, give offerings, and queue up for ashes... even as they walk by beggars on the street and mistreat their workers. They fast... they swear off chocolate, they quit stopping at the bar for awhile, but there is no lasting change. Their commitment is only superficial. It never touches their souls, and when their time of fasting is done, they pick up their grievances and prejudices, and restart their fights. For them, fasting is a truce rather than a surrender and their voices will not be heard on high unless they live for God.
And the same is true for us. Lent is not a time-out, but a way of life that honors and serves God. Ash Wednesday is more than a brief service that recognizes our journey from dust-to-dust. It's a moment in which we can repent, reconsider, and reclaim... the image of God within us. Let the cross of ashes that will mark us when we leave this service be a sign that we've resolved to be "fully human" in Christ. Let it be a statement that, rather than being "merely human" as we stumble around, we will (with God's help) live as Christ's disciples and go in the way that He leads us. Listen now, as Isaiah (58:9b,ff) goes on: "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry... and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will shine in the darkness..." If you loose the bonds of injustice, if you break every yoke, if you share your food with the hungry, if you provide shelter for the poor, if you clothe the naked when you see them, and if you take care of your own "flesh and blood," you will find your joy in the Lord and He will lift you to great heights! Amen.
I know many people who give up things for Lent, and giving up things can be a helpful spiritual discipline. I read that 24% of Americans observe Lent and that most of them give up a favorite food or drink (pray that I'm never asked to give up coffee), while others give up a bad habit or a favorite activity (either of which could be a euphemism for sin). Now, even though I link my blogs as tweets, I'm not much of a twitter (FB is as wild as I get), but I did see that among tweeters, the things that they gave up for Lent, included: social networking, alcohol, meat, (when I get to yours shout right out) chocolate, coffee, fast food, men, marijuana, smoking, swearing, worrying, shopping, gossiping, and sushi. You may be attracted to one or more of these "sacrifices" yourself, but I prefer to see Lent as an invitation to give up self and pick up God!
For me, Lent is more about deciding and committing and surrendering.., than it is about giving up something, especially if that something is given up on a temporary basis. Isaiah was so prophetic: if we free people from yokes that oppress them (sin, guilt, fear, addiction, abuse); if we quit judging others and degrading them in the way we talk about them; if we give all that we can- time, talent, and treasure- to improve the lives of those who are shut-in, shut-down, and shut-up; if we claim God's grace and share it freely; if we forgive because we know that we've been forgiven; if, in a word, we live as God's people, we will find joy and purpose as Christians! This is the promise of Lent. Let us covenant to fast... by living and loving as God's people and let our journey begin with crosses of ashes that tell the world that we are His! Amen!
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