St. Margaret's Sermon Archive
Ash Wednesday - Susan N. Blue 03/01/06
ASH WEDNESDAY
Rev. Susan N. Blue
"'Yet even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning: rend your hearts and not your garments.'" (Joel)
John Sanford in his book, The Kingdom Within, describes his childhood as the son of an Episcopal priest. He lived in a New Hampshire farmhouse. It had no electricity or indoor plumbing. Water was drawn from an old well outside the front door. Even in the heat of the summer it was never dry, but always pure and sparkling.
The day came when renovations were necessary. An artesian well was dug and the old well sealed as a reserve. Several years later John decided to check the well. When he opened it, he discovered that it was dry. He had this to say:
"It took many inquiries on my part to understand what had happened. A well of this kind is fed by hundreds of tiny underground rivulets along which seeps a constant supply of water. As water is drawn from the well, more water moves into it along the rivulets, keeping these tiny apertures clear and open. But when such a well is not used and the water is not regularly drawn, the tiny rivulets close up. Our well, which had run without failing for so many years, was dry not because there was no water but because it had not been used." (John Sanford, The Kingdom Within, p. 8, via 5/888 Barry Johnson.)
Ash Wednesday is an intensely personal day. It is a time when our total focus is on our relationship with God. Often, when we stop and reflect, we find we are like the old well - our spiritual life, our relationship with God, has dried up for lack of use. This does not happen because we do not care, for most of us care deeply. Life, however, is hectic. We get caught up with the various demands of the external world, and begin, mistakenly, to believe that that world is the more important. We dig fancy new wells, become electrified and get distracted. Consequently, we find that the old well of life-giving water gets boarded up to be addressed later"…when I have more time." Unfortunately, that time may not come before we are confronted with loss, pain or death - all of which cause us to thirst desperately for that life-giving water.
We are offered this day and the next forty days of Lent the opportunity to step back, to take the board off the top of our spiritual lives and to check to see if the water is still running. If we find that it is not, today we are given a second chance! We are given time to do intense self evaluation, to repent, to amend our lives and, yes, to celebrate the gift of life, the marvel of our creation. It is a time to turn back to God with our whole heart, to take responsibility for ourselves and for our relationship with God and others.
Though our relationship with God is intensely personal and private, the reality of our spiritual lives is that they do not happen in a vacuum, we are filled up as we reconcile with God, ourselves and one another. Our relationship with God is also a communal one, hence it is important to gather with fellow travelers during this time to worship, pray and study.
Matthew's Gospel suggests that our spiritual health comes from giving alms, from fasting and from prayer - all done quietly and in secret. We give alms - not just financially but we also give ourselves to those around us, particularly those who are less fortunate and in need. We reconcile ourselves to one another, we nurture our relationships with our fellow creatures, and taking responsibility for the whole of creation that God has given into our care.
We fast, we let go of that which clogs up the flow of "life-giving" water in our lives. We care for ourselves physically, spiritually and emotionally. We move from self-disparagement or even hatred to celebrating the gift of life we have been given in creation. We do so rejoicing that God delights in us, God's creatures.
Finally, we pray. We pray in quiet, we pray by listening, by laughing, by giving thanks, by offering intercessions, and by acknowledging our fault and hearing the gift of absolution. Through prayer we restore our relationship with God to what was intended - a relationship of intimacy and strength and flowing with living water.
"Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Even now, return to God with all your heart - with fasting, with weeping and with mourning. Rend your hearts and not your garments, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…" (II Corinthians 5:20b-6:10)
In the words of the Ash Wednesday Liturgy:
"I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance, by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's Holy Word." (BCP, p. 265)
AMEN
Rev. Susan N. Blue
"'Yet even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning: rend your hearts and not your garments.'" (Joel)
John Sanford in his book, The Kingdom Within, describes his childhood as the son of an Episcopal priest. He lived in a New Hampshire farmhouse. It had no electricity or indoor plumbing. Water was drawn from an old well outside the front door. Even in the heat of the summer it was never dry, but always pure and sparkling.
The day came when renovations were necessary. An artesian well was dug and the old well sealed as a reserve. Several years later John decided to check the well. When he opened it, he discovered that it was dry. He had this to say:
"It took many inquiries on my part to understand what had happened. A well of this kind is fed by hundreds of tiny underground rivulets along which seeps a constant supply of water. As water is drawn from the well, more water moves into it along the rivulets, keeping these tiny apertures clear and open. But when such a well is not used and the water is not regularly drawn, the tiny rivulets close up. Our well, which had run without failing for so many years, was dry not because there was no water but because it had not been used." (John Sanford, The Kingdom Within, p. 8, via 5/888 Barry Johnson.)
Ash Wednesday is an intensely personal day. It is a time when our total focus is on our relationship with God. Often, when we stop and reflect, we find we are like the old well - our spiritual life, our relationship with God, has dried up for lack of use. This does not happen because we do not care, for most of us care deeply. Life, however, is hectic. We get caught up with the various demands of the external world, and begin, mistakenly, to believe that that world is the more important. We dig fancy new wells, become electrified and get distracted. Consequently, we find that the old well of life-giving water gets boarded up to be addressed later"…when I have more time." Unfortunately, that time may not come before we are confronted with loss, pain or death - all of which cause us to thirst desperately for that life-giving water.
We are offered this day and the next forty days of Lent the opportunity to step back, to take the board off the top of our spiritual lives and to check to see if the water is still running. If we find that it is not, today we are given a second chance! We are given time to do intense self evaluation, to repent, to amend our lives and, yes, to celebrate the gift of life, the marvel of our creation. It is a time to turn back to God with our whole heart, to take responsibility for ourselves and for our relationship with God and others.
Though our relationship with God is intensely personal and private, the reality of our spiritual lives is that they do not happen in a vacuum, we are filled up as we reconcile with God, ourselves and one another. Our relationship with God is also a communal one, hence it is important to gather with fellow travelers during this time to worship, pray and study.
Matthew's Gospel suggests that our spiritual health comes from giving alms, from fasting and from prayer - all done quietly and in secret. We give alms - not just financially but we also give ourselves to those around us, particularly those who are less fortunate and in need. We reconcile ourselves to one another, we nurture our relationships with our fellow creatures, and taking responsibility for the whole of creation that God has given into our care.
We fast, we let go of that which clogs up the flow of "life-giving" water in our lives. We care for ourselves physically, spiritually and emotionally. We move from self-disparagement or even hatred to celebrating the gift of life we have been given in creation. We do so rejoicing that God delights in us, God's creatures.
Finally, we pray. We pray in quiet, we pray by listening, by laughing, by giving thanks, by offering intercessions, and by acknowledging our fault and hearing the gift of absolution. Through prayer we restore our relationship with God to what was intended - a relationship of intimacy and strength and flowing with living water.
"Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Even now, return to God with all your heart - with fasting, with weeping and with mourning. Rend your hearts and not your garments, for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…" (II Corinthians 5:20b-6:10)
In the words of the Ash Wednesday Liturgy:
"I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance, by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's Holy Word." (BCP, p. 265)
AMEN