Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 & Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21, <\/strong><\/p>\n Note 1: <\/strong>All quotes in the sermon are from the English Standard Version.<\/p>\n Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen<\/p>\n \u201cRing around the rosie, Anyone ever sung that with children? Maybe a group of children, singing and walking together holding hands in a circle\u2026with one in the middle of the circle?\u2026and after each time it is sung, the \u201clast one\u201d to sit down ends up in the middle? Giggles, down, up, down, up, giggles\u2026I don\u2019t play that game anymore. If I fall down, it takes too long to get back up to make a game of it. Besides, I\u2019m likely to hurt myself. But children? They might still have lots of fun.<\/p>\n But, all fall down, right?\u00a0 A verse many of us may have read multiple times says, for\u00a0all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God\u2026<\/em> (3:23). You know that all have sinned and fall short<\/em> is different from \u201call fall down.\u201d This is about falling short of a goal<\/em>, or falling short<\/em> of some expectation; our own or God\u2019s. Yet, Paul does not dwell on guilt, since he built his argument in the previous chapter and a half. Rather he affirms that all are justified\u00a0by his grace as a gift,\u00a0through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus<\/em>.<\/p>\n I recall about 30 years ago, and it was in February or March in northwest Iowa. I was on my way to visit a homebound member in an apartment. I parked my car, took one step\u2026and I fell on some ice I had not seen. I quickly did three things. In an instant I stood up, looked around, and checked if I was injured. I looked around before I checked for injury. Why? I was checking to see if anyone saw me fall (ha-ha).<\/p>\n But is this not the way we are? We do not want anyone to see if we fall\u2026on our backside; or if we fall short of the glory of God. But, guess what? You know that God \u201csees\u201d all; whether we fall on our backside or \u201csin and fall short.\u201d God sees our successes and failures, our kindness and our meanness, our good and our evil.<\/p>\n Ashes, ashes we all fall down. Or shall I say, \u201cAshes, ashes we all fall short\u201d?<\/p>\n You probably know that Lent is a time for reflection and repentance and more. This is why the reading from Joel is often heard, and that Psalm 51 is shared. Joel calls the people to return.\u00a0 He calls out, \u201cYet even now,\u201d declares the\u00a0Lord, \u201creturn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and\u00a0rend your hearts<\/em> (Joel 2:12-13a). \u00a0 Yet, for Joel the inspiration for returning, for repentance is wonderful! Joel\u2019s call is not rooted in judgement, but in something else, something graceful. He continues, Return to the\u00a0Lord\u00a0your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love <\/em>(v.13 b, c). Reflecting on this dynamic, Chad Bird writes, \u201cRepentance does not lead God to accept us. God\u2019s kind of acceptance of us in Christ leads us to repentance.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p>\n You and I are empowered by God\u2019s steadfast love to return day in and day out. We are empowered to repent daily and to live by grace and mercy. Martin Luther describes our living in the Small Catechism, in the portion about Holy Baptism. In answer to the question, \u201cWhat does baptism mean for daily living?\u201d he writes:<\/p>\n It means that our sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.<\/em>2<\/sup><\/p>\n Ashes, ashes we all fall down.<\/p>\n As Lent begins, we annually hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 6. Here he calls us to \u201cgive to the needy\u201d (v. 2). Jesus also calls us to pray (v. 5) and to fast (v. 16)\u2026and each of these three is to be done secretly, not to be seen by others. You know that these are part of our ongoing life in Christ. We pray \u201cin secret\u201d to connect anew to the heavenly One, and not to show others how \u201cconnected\u201d we are. We are generous to others \u201cin secret\u201d so that God is the one who knows, and others may give God the glory for help received. We fast \u201cin secret\u201d to experience at a \u201cgut level\u201d our emptiness without food, and by extension we experience our body how empty we are without God. If we pray, give alms and fast so that we are seen by others, then we are only \u201cfull of ourselves\u201d and devoid of godliness.<\/p>\n These are not things we practice for the six weeks of Lent, until Easter, and then drop until the next Ash Wednesday. Rather, since these are part of our ongoing life, Lent is a time to remember, to re-connect to Jesus\u2019 words so that Lent can become a \u201cpractice time\u201d for the whole of our life as followers of Jesus.<\/p>\n Ashes, ashes we all fall down.<\/p>\n In our worship today, the flow of Christian life is before us\u2026from beginning to end. We have heard the scriptures with their reminders to remember who we are as those called to return, recognizing who we are as God\u2019s creatures\u2026sinners from birth called to return, called to follow the way of Jesus anew\u2026knowing that, For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin\u00a0who knew no sin, so that in him we might become\u00a0the righteousness of God<\/em>. (2 Corinthians 5:21). In addition to hearing the scriptures, we have the opportunity to share in an order for Confession to acknowledge our sinfulness and brokenness before God and one another. We will have the opportunity to receive the imposition of ashes. We will also have the opportunity to receive the Communion as a gift that brings to this body the Gospel of God\u2019s grace and forgiveness \u2013 in, with and under bread and wine.<\/p>\n You may know that the ashes are to remind us with words, with touch, and with a symbolic marking that we are dust and to dust we will return. The ashes connect us at a gut level to our mortality. You may know that historically ashes were often a sign or symbol of repentance. Sometimes ancient peoples sat \u201cin sackcloth and ashes\u201d as we hear about the people of Nineveh in response to Jonah\u2019s preaching in that scripture story. You may also know that the ashes are smeared in the shape of a cross to connect us at a gut level to the one who became sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. <\/em><\/p>\n Ashes, ashes we all fall down.<\/p>\n As part of the culture around us many of us will also observe today, February 14, as Valentine\u2019s Day. You may have heard in conversation or seen in social media the suggestion that ashes be imposed in the shape of a heart instead of a cross. I understand this as an attempt to bridge the world of the church to people whose focus is on that holiday. I would chose not to change the practice in that way. This is not because I am a \u201cstuck in the mud\u201d kind of person. Rather, I still think that the cross can be a symbol of God\u2019s love for us in ways that a \u201cheart\u201d cannot be. I am reminded of the words of Paul in the fifth chapter of the letter to the Romans, but\u00a0God shows his love for us in that\u00a0while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. <\/em>(v. 8). This verse may remind you also of the \u201cgospel in a nutshell\u201d as some people refer to John 3:16, For\u00a0God so loved\u00a0the world,\u00a0that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not\u00a0perish but have eternal life<\/em>. Or for me, I am reminded of my \u201cconfirmation verse\u201d from 1969, Galatians 3:20, I have been\u00a0crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives\u00a0in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,\u00a0who loved me and\u00a0gave himself for me.<\/em> Scripturally, God\u2019s love for the world, for all people, for \u201cme\u201d is connected to the giving of the Son through the death of Jesus.<\/p>\n Ashes, ashes we all fall down.<\/p>\n Life is NOT a game, but I wonder. I wonder if we can take a clue from the children\u2019s game. In the game, once everyone \u201cfalls down,\u201d everyone stands again, everyone \u201crises again.\u201d This day because the ashes remind us of our mortality and sinfulness, the cross-shape of the ashes may remind us that we also may rise again because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. As those connected to Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection in baptism, daily we fall and daily we rise. You also know that one day we will all return to the dust in death, but also one day we shall rise again. On that day, our connection to Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection will be complete.<\/p>\n Until that day, we \u201cpractice\u201d our prayer, giving to the needy and fasting.<\/p>\n Until that day we live the baptized life falling down, returning in repentance and rising again<\/p>\n Until that day\u2026Amen.<\/p>\n Now, may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen<\/p>\n
\nA pocket full of posies.
\nAshes! Ashes!
\nWe all fall down!\u201d<\/p>\n