Have you ever had a moment growing up where
you got in big trouble? You tried to get away with something but got caught.
And you knew you were busted big time? This happened to me several times growing up, but one I really remember happened in the 4th grade.
My
friends and I were playing outside when we decided to go explore an empty house across the street. No one was living there and we
found a window that was unlocked. So we climbed through the window and
started running around the house. I was going through the living room when someone caught my
eye. My mom saw me through the window and gave me "THE MOM” look. I froze. She
then pointed to me and told me to come. I left the house and went to my
mom. She asked why I was in the house. I have no idea what I was thinking but I
replied: “What house? I wasn’t in a house.” She then said, “I just saw you and
pointed at you…why were you in the house?” Again, I replied: “I didn’t go into
the house.” Stunned in disbelief, she told me to go to my room and that we would talk about it
later…when dad got home. I don’t know about you, but in my home if dad had to
get involved you were in big trouble. To this day, I have no idea why
I lied. My punishment wouldn’t have been near as bad if I simply confessed.
We’ve all been there. We've all had Moments where we got caught…moments
where we made bad decisions and looking back we have no idea why. Ash Wednesday is
a special day in the life of the church because it forces us to confront these
moments. The ashes we receive on our forehead are a symbol of our own mortality and
sin. Ashes in the Old Testament represented mourning and repentance in the Old
Testament. They reminded people that death and sin are very real. Our reality
is one of brokenness. Romans 3: “For all have sinned and fallen short of God’s
glorious standard.” Then Romans 6: “The wages of sin is death.” We are people
who have messed up. We have gone our own way, pursued our own happiness, and in
the process destroyed our own souls. We have separated ourselves from the very
One who loves us and gives us life.
Hebrews 4 puts it this way:
“For the
word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife,
cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we
really are. Nothing in all creation can
hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God
to whom we must explain all that we have done.”
This is a scary verse. This
verse and Ash Wednesday reminds us that we have all been busted. We are all
exposed. Everything we have or haven’t done is known by God. We may hide it from
others, but nothing is hidden from God. This is bad news. No wonder most people
skip Lent and go straight to Easter. We don’t want to think about our own
sin…we don’t want to think about death. We don’t like ashes. But here’s the good news. I want
to finish with a promise. Here’s the second part of the verse:
“This is why we have a great High
Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. [Because we are lost,
broken, and busted…Christ came].
Let us cling to him and never stop trusting
him [that is what Lent is all about. Re-orienting our lives on Christ…focusing
our attention on him].
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for
he faced all of the same temptations we do... [Jesus understands you completely.
He knows what you’ve been through. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed by
friends, to be abandoned, to be hated, to be lied about…he’s been through the
same things as us. But here’s the difference]
...yet he did not sin. [he faced
everything we face, he was tempted like we are tempted…yet he did not sin. And
because of this the writer commands]
Let us come boldly to the throne of our
gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help
us when we need it.”
The ashes remind us of death and
sin, but then we have communion right after the imposition of ashes. Communion reminds us that death and sin
do not have the last word. Communion reminds us that through Christ, our great
High Priest, we have been given the gift of everlasting life. So may this Lenten
season be for us a time of renewal…a time of change…a time of focus…and most of
all a time of clinging…a season where we cling and trust our gracious Savior.
