Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Sound the
trumpet in Jerusalem! Raise the alarm on
my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble
in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us. It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of
thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly,
like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and mighty army appears. Nothing like it has been seen before or will
ever be seen again.
That is why
the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but
tear your hearts instead.” Return to
the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get
angry and filled with unfailing love. He
is eager to relent and not punish. Who
knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of
this curse. Perhaps you will be able to
offer grain and wine to the Lord your God as before. Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people
together for a solemn meeting. Gather
all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the
bride from her private room. Let the
priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, stand and weep between the
entry room to the Temple and the altar. Let
them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!
Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving
foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’” Joel 2:1-2, 12:17(NLT)
Ash Wednesday,
along with Good Friday, are among my least favorite days of the
year. Let’s face it, this is an
invitation to go to church with fasting, weeping, and mourning. On the whole, I’d rather be in the dentist’s
chair when he says, root canal!
Now, putting my
personal preferences aside (which is certainly a big part of becoming a
Christian in the first place…you remember, denying self and taking up the cross
daily). Well, laying to the side my preference for the celebration
days of Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, and all the other happy times, it is this
day I NEED more than any celebration.
Ash Wednesday is:
·
the day of my personal mourning and
repentance for my own sins
·
a time for clearing-out the cobwebs
of conveniently-forgotten promises to God
·
a moment to confront those failed attempts
to get
back on track with living the faith life of being a disciple of
Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, this
Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine’s Day, and, consistent with all the
other sentimentality which creates the Hallmark syndrome throughout
the year, too many of us will opt for chocolate over confession; we want a
celebration, not a solemn meeting. After
all, wouldn’t we rather be happy instead of going to a somber service, singing Just
As I Am, and When I Survey the Wondrous Cross?
Actually, I may
have just stumbled across the point…how can you actually BE happy WITHOUT
this day of confession? How can you
survive eternity without that wondrous blood-stained cross and the marvelous
grace that says you can come to Christ just as you are, without one plea, but that thy
blood was shed for me?
Which would you
rather have?
·
Celebrating “love” in a sentimental
gush of emotions, fueled by flowers, chocolate, four-star dinner, and maybe a
few diamonds, making the owners of that every Kiss begins with K™ slogan deleriously happy (not to mention rich), knowing you’ll have to top
that next year…or…
·
Connecting with the author and
finisher of all faith in a way that experiences the cleansing power of mercy
and grace…and sensing a renewal of that child within, cleansed, forgiven, re-purposed
and strong?
This isn’t a harangue
against St. Valentine, Hallmark, or even celebrating the day by thinking of
your loved ones; it’s just a reminder that there is a better target that is
being held in a whole different place. Don’t
miss that target…go for the ashes!
For You Today
Celebrate
the cross…that’s the REAL DEAL when it comes to love!
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
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