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Ash Wednesday, 03/01/2017
Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6.16-21, by Judson Merrell
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you... 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, wheremoth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our Gospel lesson for this Ash Wednesday comes from the Sermon on the Mount. For the past few weeks, our Gospel came from this sermon as we moved through Ordinary Time following the Epiphany of our Lord. Today our lesson begins with Jesus telling his disciples "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1) While most translations list “piety” as the act we are not to practice for show, several translate it as “righteousness.” That sort of changes things, doesn’t it? Is righteousness something that we can practice? Or is righteousness a virtue, a quality, or an attribute? It all depends on the context.
In our Gospel this evening, we are given that very context that we seek. Our Gospel lays out three ways in which we are not to “show out” among others. They are alms-giving, prayer, and fasting. Together, these three form a trinity about which we are not to brag and gain public approval. Instead, these acts are to be done in secret for divine approval. Like other parts of the Sermon on the Mount, this text screams with the law. It tells us what WE should be doing and how WE should do it. It is quite different than other parts of Matthew 5, 6, and 7. But looking at the Sermon on the Mount as a whole we see the theme of Christian Discipleship speaking to us loud and clear.
Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting are three of the major tenants of being a Christian Disciple. They show devotion to God, to community, and to relationship. Almsgiving shows mercy, a mercy that first comes from God to his sinful people. Prayer shows the love that we have for our fellow man. And fasting shows our willingness to share our resources while showing our devotion. Together, they form a powerful image that would stand out more than any public display of attention. Together, they show that living the life as a Christian Disciple is different. It is not the norm. But then again, we aren’t looking for the norm, because Jesus was not the norm.
Today we do another action that is not the norm, at least not anymore. As we gather today for worship and prayer, we enter into the discipline of the season of Lent. Some of us will have a fast during this season. Some of us will step up our alms-giving. Some will increase their prayer life. But we all come to cover ourselves in ashes…to remember our sin, to confess our sin before God, and to ask for his mercy once again.
Years ago a young pastor was approached by a little boy after the Sunday service. The little boy came running up to him, pointing at his newly baptized little sister. “Pastor! Pastor!” he screamed. “Her cross is gone! I can’t see it anymore! You put it on her forehead but it is not there!” Smiling, the pastor told the little boy “Don’t worry, it is still there. We may not be able to see it, but God can see it.” It’s almost as if her cross were put there in secret….Today we put visible crosses on our foreheads. Not to go out and brag, but to enter into this season of repentance.
Covering one’s self in ashes is an ancient practice mentioned multiple times in the bible, and is the primary act of grieving and repenting. That is what we do today. We grieve that we are not the perfection that God created, because we turn from God in sin. We confess that we have strayed, no matter how hard we try not to. And we pray that the God we worship is as merciful on us as he has been on the saints who have gone before us. We hope, we pray, and we put our faith in his righteousness. For we know that he sees the cross of righteousness on our foreheads given to us at baptism. Not something we can see or something we show for public approval, but a mark that bestows a virtue, a quality, and an attribute to a disciple of Christ. It is a mark given by God through the power of the Holy Spirit to all his baptized children. It is a mark that makes us a child of God forever, called, claimed and redeemed. So if we are so bold as to go out in public today with this visible mark, we pray that we do so by showing the righteousness of Christ. We don’t do this for our own glory but for the glory of God the Father. For it is his righteousness that came to earth in his Son Jesus and still comes to us today through the power of the Holy Spirit. As we begin Lent today, let us then enter into this season knowing that it is God who is the righteous, and therefore our fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are done to his glory, so that he may be blessed through his work in us. To him be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.