At Creator there are many memories associated with Ash Wednesday including Creator's Mardi Gras / Shrove Tuesday celebrations which traditionally happened every year when David Lee provided our worship music. For years David invited a select group of musicians to perform upbeat jazz standards. Juxtaposing those joyous musical moments and camaraderie with the dust-to-dust Ash Wednesday services provided the congregation some unique perspectives and gave an unusual balance to how Creator moved into Lent.
We still faithfully followed some traditions this year. We sang Kelly Carlisle's Kyrie to open the service and I Want Jesus to Walk with Me was the closing hymn. Also a new perspective on Ash Wednesday came this year, in part because of last Sunday's worship. When today's Gospel was read my mind was on Bishop Dave's sermon Sunday regarding the "subversive" nature of the "Transfiguration" passage. Tonight's Gospel appears to be subversive on its face as well.
In this reading Jesus tells his disciples that when they fast they should not only avoid marking their faces but actually clean them. This is our traditional Gospel passage reading for Ash Wednesday. A Gospel reading for a service that centers around having the mark of the cross traced in ash across our foreheads. Jesus instructs the disciples not to be hypocrites; but rather to practice alms giving, fasting and praying in secret. These instructions, including that command to wash your face, are read on the same the day that Christians are encouraged to publicly wear a highly visible, ashy mark of faith on our face.
Pastor Ray, in his sermon, called the reading of this Gospel on this day somewhat ironic.
Is this a subversive Gospel, ironically encouraging Christians to behave like hypocrites? Is this the larger church's attempt at humor? Is this intended as some sort of invitation to Holy Disruption for us as followers of Jesus? Or is there a deeper message that invites us to explore in greater detail what Jesus tells us here?
First, let's be clear about what it means to be a hypocrite. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” The Greek word is a compound noun from two Greek words that literally translate as “an interpreter from underneath". Actors in ancient Greek theater wore large masks to mark which character they were playing, and so they interpreted the story from underneath their masks.
It is interesting that the word "underneath" comes up again this week in exploring worship. Bishop Dave pointed out in his sermon last Sunday that he was thinking of the prefix sub in subversive in its "under" meaning.
When thinking of a hypocrite in this way, as wearing a mask, the Gospel 's message becomes more evident. The mark of the cross on our forehead is not meant as a public "mask", merely worn to draw attention to our own individual righteousness. Instead this Wednesday ash is intended to be a humble admission of what we all share as followers and members of the body of Christ; past, present and future. It is the mark of our baptism made visible as to whose we truly are.
If one is wears ash on their foreheads in some vain and misguided attempt to show others how much more pious they are than someone else, this passage may serve as a warning.
This Ash Wednesday coincided with Valentine's Day. Also today in Parkland, Florida there was a school shooting that left 3 faculty and 14 students dead. It was a day for everyone to reflect on faith, love and thoughts of mortality.
Tonight's Lesson was a lament from Joel which echoed an invitation to understand a tested way to return to the Lord. Particularly the passage that reads, "Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, with morning; rend your hearts and not your clothes". This is not an easy path to take.
Pastor Ray preached that we may not succeed on what we intend to do for Lent. We may have the wrong motives in our hearts or lack the will power and fail to give up what we planned in Lent. We may go into a cycle of guilt about this rather than attaining the freedom we desired. Pastor Ray continued that when Lent is misused or abused in this way or, for whatever reason, we fail along the journey; Lent has accomplished its purpose. We are exposed for who we are - in bondage to sin while at the same time beloved by God.
The ash, like the cross, both imposes and exposes who we truly are as Christians.
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