February 25, 2009 Ash Wednesday Joel 2:12-18; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2; Mt. 6:1-6, 16-18 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/022509.shtml             ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________     Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a 40 day time span that ends on the eve of our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. The “ash” of Ash Wednesday implies something destroyed, demolished, gone. Not only destroyed are the palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday’s palms, but also destroyed was the life of a person, a man, a figure we can never fully even begin to comprehend the God-man, Jesus. It is well that you and I contemplate, meditate upon, and spend time and effort on the astounding attitude of the person dying for us, what it means, and then fall down “in humble adoration” before the Lord God.   Jesus warned his disciples against false piety. He tells his followers not to call attention to their good deeds. When you give alms don't let your right hand know what you left hand is doing. When you pray don't make a show of it. When you fast do not make yourself look hungry but hide your hunger. Finally he says do not store up treasures on earth but in heaven.   Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are religious disciplines that have long been cherished in many of the religions of the world. As important as they are, they are not meant to be merely public displays of personal prowess. In today’s reading from Joel, God charges us, “Tear your hearts, not your garments.” This same concern for inner integrity is clear in Jesus’ words in the Gospel: Do not blow the horn before you; do not pray in order to be noticed; do not let others know that you are fasting. Prayer put us in touch with God. Fasting puts us in touch with ourselves and our need for self-discipline. What will you fast from, give up for the sake of seeking God this Lent? Almsgiving moves us beyond ourselves and is a concrete way of showing concern for others. Ash Wednesday is an invitation to each of us to look at ourselves realistically, at our mortality, our personal sinfulness, our world’s brokenness, and in the clear light of truth about all of this, to move from the ashes of the present to the hope which is God’s gift to us for the future. What makes movement possible is the message of the cross that we are loved by God, forgiven by Christ, and in all things will be supported and nurtured by the Holy Spirit.     <<   Previous: Seventh Ordinary Sunday of the Year  | Next: First Sunday of Lent >>   Go Back to SERMONS (Year B)