Ash Wednesday Sermon

At Trinity we are using the Lenten Journey study guide entitled Beyond Question.  Each Wednesday night we will be looking at different questions that Jesus asks his followers.  For Ash Wednesday the question is "What are you looking for?"

John 1:35-42
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.  When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?"

What are you looking for?

Reading the gospel of John, it is interesting that these are the first words Jesus speaks in addressing the disciples of John the Baptist who have begun to follow Jesus. 

What are you looking for?

A few months back, Pr. Jo invited people to write down on a slip of paper a question they would want to ask God.  You can imagine the questions:  Why is there suffering in the world?  Why are people hungry?  Why am I so sad?  Why is Grandma in so much pain?  What is your plan for my life. 

What are you looking for?

It is a reflective question.  It is a question that causes us to think about our lives and the decision we’ve made; partners, children, work.  What’s next for my life even if my body creaks with old age?  Where am I at in terms of my faith - a faith that is ever-evolving, hopefully growing, and giving life to my existence?

Socrates boldly said “The unexamined life is not worth living.” 

Socrates believed that the purpose of human life was personal and spiritual growth. We are unable to grow toward greater understanding of our true nature unless we take the time to examine and reflect upon our life. As another philosopher, Santayana, observed, "He who does not remember the past is condemned to repeat it."

Examining our life reveals patterns of behavior. Deeper contemplation yields understanding of the subconscious programming, the powerful mental software that runs our life. Unless we become aware of these patterns, much of our life is unconscious repetition.

A psychotherapist once said, "I see so many tragic examples of the effect of an unexamined life. I remember Melissa, a sensitive, attractive woman in her late forties who realized that a series of repetitive, doomed-from-the-beginning relationships had used up so many years of her life that it was now very unlikely that she could still manifest her dream of a husband and children of her own. I recall Donald, a caring, hard-working man who neglected his wife and family emotionally for too many years. By the time he came to see me he was divorced, depressed and living alone in an apartment.

If only Melissa and Donald had taken the time to examine and reflect upon their lives as they were living them, they could have made changes and had a different experience during their lifetime."

And so we come to Ash Wednesday as we begin our Lenten Journey together.  Lent is an intentional time of spiritual reflection.  Our foreheads are marked with ashes, a sign of death, one thing we all have in common.  On Ash Wednesday there is no distinction between rich and poor, advantaged or disadvantaged, privileged or despairing.  We all are as good as dirt.  But then look at what great things God does with simple dirt. God warms the soil and brings it back to life causing growth to erupt all over the place.  But always in God’s time and in God’s way. 

On Ash Wednesday there is a heavy emphasis on repentance.  The word repentance means simply to turn around.  To repent is to turn away from those things that take away life and turning towards our Lord who gives life, both in this world and the next. 

What are you looking for? 

The good news is God is always looking for us.  God wants us to ask questions.  God wants us to turn to him especially in those despairing moments of life because in calling out to God, we acknowledge that God is there.  The questions might be incredibly simple or terribly complex but God wants to hear them.  And as we process that one question, God promises to accompany us on that journey of discovery in our quest for an answer.  That is why Jesus instructs us to pray in a private room.  God wants us all to God-self.  God wants us turning totally towards God.  God wants us entirely.  In the symbolism of ashes and repentance, we are stripped from all the things that would keep us from being totally with God as God embraces us with a love that would sacrifice God’s own son to prove that love for us.  In Jesus, grace is embodied and shared in Jesus Christ. 

And so we are not left floundering on our own.  Jesus accompanies us on this Lenten Journey of discovery.  What are you looking for?  We may not have an answer to give but this we can trust, that Jesus knows and Jesus journeys with us.  In the receiving of the Lord’s Supper we take in the sacrifice of Christ strengthened for the journey ahead as we explore and engage and expand in faith and hope to live in this world. 

What are you looking for?

In Jesus you will find more than you ever imagined.  If only we will take some time – to think, to pray, to be alone with the risen Christ.  Jesus is more than waiting for us.  Jesus is here, now, to bless and to inspire, to heal and to forgive, to offer hope and life.  And along the way we will find that which we are looking.  God simply calls us to trust God along the journey and to be open to the new discoveries we will find along the way.  Amen.