“Today is the day” is a reminder that we have no day to love and serve God and our neighbors but today, no matter what other people might think of us. And for moments we let people’s words get to us, we can turn to God today and pray that we be molded by God alone.
Vicar Natalie Wussler
Ash Wednesday
Texts: Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 51:1-17; Psalm 103:8-14; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Beloved in Christ, grace to you and peace in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
“Today is the day.” It’s a phrase I first heard in my high school improv group. A guideline for creating emotionally heightened scenes. It means life is happening today, a wild adventure is starting today, someone’s world is changing today. This simple phrase spices up any scene, it raises the urgency of all the actors, and, in the end, everyone is much more invested because today IS the day. And Paul seems to be getting at a similar idea here in Second Corinthians, as he urges the early church to be reconciled to God and to each other and to work together with God, because today is the day of salvation, of healing, Paul says, and we’ve got no time to waste.
Today is Ash Wednesday. And “today is the day” seems especially poignant. In a few moments, we will dawn ashes on our forehead. The symbol of our mortality, and the promise that one day, our lives on this earth will be over. Yes, on that day, we will be welcomed to the feast that has no end, but we only have one chance on this earth. One life to live. Every second is one closer to our deaths. We are here on this earth so temporarily, and that’s frightening. Anxiety rises as we ask ourselves, how do I spend what little time I have? How do I know I’m doing it right? How do I know I’m not wasting my life?
Well, Isaiah has a pretty good idea of how to live life well.
To loose the bonds of injustice, Isaiah says,
And to undo the straps of the yoke
To let the oppressed go free
To share bread with the hungry
and to house the homeless poor,
To cover the naked
Isaiah says life is best spent in service of God and of our neighbor. We all know this, but when we live as if today is the day to walk this path, we expect that God will work through us for the healing of the world today. We see people who are bound by injustice, today, people who are hungry and homeless today, people who need love today, and we hear God calls us to go into the broken places to stand in solidarity with hurting people today. When we live like this we become hope, relationships are mended, communities are reconciled, and our hurting world experiences healing. This reminder of our death is a call to live everyday as vessels of God’s love and justice. This is the way God calls us to live. The way the spirit is guiding us. And the way our souls yearn to live.
But it’s the way this world just doesn’t understand.
And maybe that’s why Jesus warns us against practicing righteousness in front of other people. Because this cross-shaped path of Christ makes no sense to this world–why spend our lives serving the outcasts and the oppressed, why be on the path toward forgiving and loving those who hurt us and our neighbors, the world says. And some might even hate us or treat us like imposters for the way we embody God’s love. These messages of disapproval and of hate are anxiety-provoking for us. We might doubt if we’re doing this life right. And when we look for the approval of others, we forget who we are and who we are made to be. We open ourselves to be molded by the judgement of others. And then we’re using our precious time trying to gain others’ approval, instead of walking the path God has set for us.
It’s hard to tune out all this noise. It’s hard to stand strong against criticism and hate. And it’s exhausting to realize how much of our lives have been formed by seeking the approval of others and to see the ways that we still stumble into these patterns. Jesus says, our relationship with God is far more important than what other people think about us. But learning that is a lifelong journey.
So maybe today is the day. Today is the day to ask God to help you let go of caring what the crowds think. Today is the day to pray as David did: That God would create in you a clean heart–one that isn’t shaken by what others say. To pray for a steadfast spirit that is focused on God’s love for you and for all people. And then, today is the day to trust that God will change your heart so that your identity and your worth are based solely on God’s love for you and God’s call on your life to do justice by loving your neighbor.
Jesus says “store your treasures in heaven” where your joy can’t be stolen and where words won’t eat away at your confidence in who you are in God. And when you spend your time on earth founded in God’s love for you, God creates resilience in you, so that not even afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, or sleepless nights can shake you. When you store up your treasures and your heart in heaven, and let God’s love define you, when you focus on the good work you’re called to do, you are being molded by God, who already loves you and sets you on the right path. And when you and I and millions of faithful people become molded by the Triune God so that we become coworkers with Christ, that’s when our light breaks forth like the dawn, and we become a watered garden, a fountain, Isaiah says, overflowing with healing for our hearts, for our communities, and for our world.
Today is the day. God will change our hearts today and give us the tools we need to be the healing of the world today, because we have no day to love God, each other, and our neighbors but today.
In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
