Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day - essay

This is an adaptation of the Sunday message I gave to seniors at their independent living facility. You can find it here: http://bit.ly/2EqpcN6

Today is Valentine’s Day, a day during which lovers give cards, flowers, candy, and other special gifts to each other as a mark of their affection. 

But this year, February 14 also marks another celebration: Ash Wednesday. Today is also the first day of Lent, the period in the Christian calendar during which the faithful ask themselves once again, Who am I? Why am I here? Why did Jesus die for me? How can I grow in my love and devotion to my Savior? 

In churches where Lent is celebrated, congregants receive ashes on their forehead and hear the words: “You are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Do you bristle at that phrase?  It is not unusual for many people to take umbrage at that statement – “You are dust, and to dust you will return.”

But the declaration itself – as is the reason behind Ash Wednesday – is purposely designed to upend our pride, to force us to remember the stark reality that each one of us – despite our popularity, our wealth, our titles, our family backgrounds – despite everything we have and hold dear to ourselves – in the end, when we have been laid in the ground, our body will decay to nothing more than dust and ashes and our popularity and titles and so forth will be forgotten within a very, very short time.

Indeed, and this is really important, Ash Wednesday serves to remind us nothing we have accomplished in life will last EXCEPT what we have done for God. Only that, and nothing else, will come with us into eternity.

Nothing else.

You might remember what King Solomon learned about wealth and popularity and titles. Here is how he began his autobiography in Ecclesiastes (Chapter 2)  “I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself;  I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; I made ponds of water for myself  . . . . I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men—many concubines. . . . .  Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity [meaningless] and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun . . . .  

Read the entire book and you will sense the depth of this man’s sorrow, his mournful regret as he looked back over his life filled with ashes. Here is how he concluded his autobiography in chapter 12:

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them” . . . “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!” The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

If we don’t get the point about the absolute futility of bigger-better-more, if we dismiss the idea that only what is done for Christ matters, then the spiritual significance of the convergence this year of Lent and Valentine’s Day will mean very little. 

We looked at Ash Wednesday. Now for Valentine’s Day.

In a depth of love that we can only imagine, God gave to us who are dust and ashes a priceless Gift – the gift of His Son. Even while we rebelliously shook our fist in His face, Jesus went to that cross, so you and I will not be cast from His eternal presence for our rebellions and sins. He gave His Son so that you and I, the laser-like focus of His love, would spend eternity with Him.

But Valentine’s Day is best enjoyed if it is a reciprocal celebration, when lovers give gifts to each other as an expression of their love for each other.

And so, as God gave you and me His love, wrapped in a manger on Christmas morning – and fully unveiled for us on Calvary’s Cross, what gift might we give to God? Many of you are familiar with Isaac Watts’ hymn:

When I survey the wondrous cross 
On which the Prince of glory died, 
My richest gain I count but loss, 
And pour contempt on all my pride. 

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, 
Save in the death of Christ my God! 
All the vain things that charm me most, 
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet, 

Sorrow and love flow mingled down! 
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, 
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, 

That were a present far too small; 
Love so amazing, so divine, 
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

So, what can be our love-gift to Him? Time, talent, treasure? Those are good places to start. But what about giving to Him also our broken hearts? Our shattered dreams? Our spiritual, emotional, and even the physical wounds we still carry? Can we lay them at His feet, and leave them there?

Oh, what wondrous gifts we give Him when we give Him what hurts us the most. And Oh! How He wants to embrace us and soothe away all that sorrow.

What will you and I give Him today, on this combined celebration of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday? What will we sacrifice to His love? Those are important questions we all can consider – should consider – every day, but perhaps especially on this day, February 14, as Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday kiss each other.

Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day - Sermon

Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day fall on the same day this year. It is all about God's love. And faithfulness. And hope. And renewal. Listen to my message here: http://bit.ly/2EE3lB6

Getting My Attention

Over the last several months I’ve been rationalizing away something wrong I’ve been doing. I’ve even avoided calling it what it really is – a sin.

If I told you what it was, many of you would probably shrug your shoulders as if it’s too minor to even worry about. But as St. Augustine wisely noted: Do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap.

Because I have for months so often rationalized the sin, I committed it again last evening without even a second thought.

Until this morning when God got my attention.

I’ve been reading through Hebrews during my mornings with the Lord, and so I picked up today where I left off yesterday, Hebrews 12. Someone – a Christian brother – recently asked why I read the bible so often. I replied, “Because God speaks to me through His book.”

This morning is just another example of God speaking to me through His book. And what He said to me was not comforting. It was a rebuke. And a warning.

I didn’t get past the second verse of chapter 12 before the Holy Spirit seized my attention: “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us . . .” 

I closed my Bible for a few moments to reflect on what God was telling me in unmistakable detail. I could no longer rationalize my sin: Richard, stop what you are doing!

His words did not sting, but His warning was as clear to me as any of His rebukes have ever been.

I repented right there in my chair.

When I again opened the Bible, I read a few verses later these words – words now of encouragement: But God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Make every effort to . . . be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”

So, what is the point in my sharing with you my most recent struggle with sin – even what some might call minor sin?

First: God loves us. He deeply, lavishly loves us.

Next: Because He loves us, His rules are for OUR good, OUR health, OUR safety. And when needed, He disciplines us so we might share in His holiness.

Third: When we break His rule(s) – Don’t waste time excusing sin, trying to rationalize it away. Instead, stop what you’re doing wrong. Confess it, repent, and return to God.

Finally: After confession, don’t let guilt linger in your mind. Don’t let it rob you of the reality of God’s gift of forgiveness. Press on for God! Get back to doing the right thing for your own sake, and for that of His kingdom.

As it is written: “Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”

Amen.

Taken Captive

I recently read a section in Deuteronomy that caught my attention. It’s from chapter 31 and verse 16:

“The Lord said to Moses, behold, you are about to lie down with your father‘s; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake me and break my covenant which I made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them.”

I put the Bible down for a few minutes and let my mind drift to a number of liberal commentaries I’ve read over the years regarding passages like this one. Instead of permitting the text to speak for itself – in this case, Moses is exercising the supernatural gift of foretelling – instead of permitting the text to remain in the realm of the supernatural, liberal commentators tell the readers that a later editor inserted this section of the text a few centuries later – when Israel’s rebellion was not a prediction of future events, but a past historical fact.

What that insertion does, of course, is to replace the supernatural with simple history to make it SEEM like a prophecy.

I can only guess why such commentaries promote fraud. A lie. A perversion of God’s holy and inerrant word.

The Books of Moses are not the only books of Scripture wherein liberal commentators slice and dice away the supernatural. They do it in virtually every Old Testament and even many of the New Testament books.

No wonder so many people today take the Bible with the proverbial grain of salt. Why bother to read it – except perhaps as ‘literature’, but certainly not the inerrant word of Almighty God?

Indeed, if the Bible is full of fraudulent texts and contexts, who’s to say the concept of God Himself is not part of the fraud?

I hope you will not be deceived by the reckless ideas of anti-supernaturalists. I also hope you will take the words of the great rabbi and apostle of Jesus to heart:

“I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. . . . Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith . . . See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority . . .  (Colossians 2:4-10).

Prayer Strategy - The Chaplet

From my book, Prayer Strategies: A Series of Helps
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Another of my prayer strategies – one that has quickly become my favorite – is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. The prayer uses the traditional Rosary beads, but the pattern of prayer is quite different. (For readers unfamiliar with the Rosary, these links here and here will help explain its history and use).

The Chaplet starts with the “Our Father,” moves to the “Hail Mary,”* and then to the Apostle’s Creed. Here the Chaplet departs substantially from the Rosary. Follow this link to the Chaplet beads.

The prayer on the bead that separates each series of ten beads begins with: “Eternal Father, I offer You the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” On each of the ten traditional “Hail Mary” beads, petitioners pray: “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Finally, at the end of the five ‘decades” (series of ten beads), the following is prayed three times: “Holy God, Holy, Mighty One, Holy and Immortal One, have mercy on us.”

The Chaplet can be prayed with our without music, but I use the musical rendition because the combination of the words and melody tugs at my emotions. For an example of the Chaplet set to music, Click here (this is Donna Cori Gibson’s YouTube version of the Chaplet. Start part one of the video at around 2:15. You can find part two here. I do not watch the video during my prayer time because it would distract me. Instead, I downloaded Gibson’s song from iTunes).

Although the music readily engages me, my personality is such that continual repetition becomes monotonous. Consequently, my mind drifts after the third or fourth “For the sake of His sorrowful passion . . ..”  I also have difficulty wrapping my mind around “ . . .  and on the whole world.”  The concept is too vast for me to not only pray with passion, but with purpose. Therefore, I modify the prayer this way:

Bead 1: For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on Nancy (my wife), and on our whole family.
Bead 2: For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on Kerry (our daughter), and on our whole family.  
Bead 3: For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on Zion (our eldest son), and on our whole family.
Bead 4:  For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on Nathan (our youngest son), and on our whole family.
Beads 5-10: I call the names of other family members on my side of the family.

On the second series of beads I call the names of those on Nancy’s side of the family. On series three through five, I call the names of my students, friends, members of our parish, and so forth. Praying for individuals in my personal ‘world’ helps me pray with passion and purpose because I know and care about the people for whom I’m praying. I like being able to put faces with names.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy includes elements of several strategies I often use in my private morning time with my Lord: lists, music, and scripted prayers. And best of all, it's all about Jesus. From beginning to end, its focus is on my Lord, Saviour and Friend.

I enjoy this strategy so much that it has become my most used method of prayer during my evening time with the Lord. I encourage readers to try this method. You don’t need Rosary beads to pray the chaplet. You can just as easily use your ten fingers.

 * For those unfamiliar with the Hail Mary, Catholics say: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. (Readers might recognize two portions of Scripture in the Hail Mary – Luke 1:28 and 1:42).

Appreciating the Tackles

I wrote this in 2011. I just remembered it. Here it is again:
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Learning to Appreciate the Tackles

Does not wisdom call, and understanding raise her voice? (Proverbs 8:1, NAB)

I remember reading many years ago of the 1929 Rose Bowl in which Georgia Tech and the University of California squared off on the California 30 yard line. Georgia controlled the ball. At the snap, Georgia fumbled and California player Roy Riegels grabbed the pigskin and took off down field. Suddenly, a roar rose from the crowd. Riegels didn’t know it, but in the confusion he had spun around and was racing toward the wrong goal. Not until another teammate tackled him six inches from the goal line did he realize his error.

Have you noticed, as I have noticed time and again, life’s fumbles often happen that way. We get turned around and, thinking everything is as it should be, we race in the wrong direction.

Just listen to the crowd! We commend ourselves as we run. I’ll be a hero!

Oh, how wrong we can be.

I am so very grateful to have experienced His tackles so often -- because He loves me far too much to let me continue unopposed in my error. Through reading Scripture, listening to homilies, hearing song lyrics or the challenging words of other Christians, Wisdom cries out: "Stop! You’re going the wrong way! Turn around! Repent while there is time!"

If necessary, God even sends circumstances to tackle me before it’s too late. Better to be embarrassed six inches from the goal line than to cross it into disaster.

Over the years, I’ve learned -- more than a few times I've had to relearn it -- to thank God for those tackles, regardless of how badly they hurt.

Or how long they hurt.

Which is why I now pray quite often that God will help me listen more closely for Wisdom’s call, because it is the voice of my loving Father drawing me away from the wrong goal. . .

And back to Himself.

An Exhortation

Each week I fellowship with a two different groups of men –all of us part of the laity of our church – and who clearly love the Lord. Each week we use our varied gifts to teach and exhort and challenge others in our journey of Christian faith.

Sometimes I think some of us forget that God has not chosen ONLY the clergy and other professional religious folk to do the work of teaching and evangelism.  He did not empower ONLY the church hierarchy the proclaim the message of  the gospel.  He left that commission with all of His children of faith in Jesus.  Here, for example, is what St. Peter proclaimed to the crowds in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost:

“But his is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams; 18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit And they shall prophesy.”

Did you catch that?  All flesh. Old and young. Slaves, too. And women.  All flesh. Not just the 'professionals'.

Of course, with God’s promise comes the responsibility that we each walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. To please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in our knowledge of God – which we do primarily through reading and studying His Scriptures -- and for those of us who are Catholic -- the reception of the Sacraments..

God’s promise for service is for you. And me.

 Don’t let anyone rob you of that privilege -- and that gift.