Joel 2:1-2,12-17; Psalm 103; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6,16-21
Today we begin our journey to the Cross, the tomb, and resurrection. Today is solemn and challenging. Today millions of Christians will have their foreheads marked with ashes, a sign of mortality and humility. Many Episcopal churches are now offering “ashes to go” at train and bus stations, in front of their churches, at shopping centers.
So this reading from Matthew has always struck me as not only misplaced, but even a bit bizarre for today.
“When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by God who is in secret” (Mt 6:17).
Maybe it doesn’t even apply. Most people who get ashes will likely not fast. They will either go to church in the morning and from there go on to a busy work day, in which they need energy, or they will come to church in the evening after that busy day. But even in the monastery where we live, in which some will be fasting, the day will begin with ashes on the forehead.
How can we hear Matthew in a way that does not make a mockery of our practice? Or, how can we practice our faith in a way that would not make Jesus despair?
“Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12).
The ashes are not the question.
The question is, what does this day mean to you? As you go to work, where will your heart be? If you take the day off for prayer, how will you spend it?
Lent is solemn and challenging. It is not time off from the rest of the world, but a time to renew our lives in the midst of the world. It is time to return with all your heart.
We manifest our faith not by the mark on our foreheads, but by the quality of our lives.
What will your life show today?
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