Be Reconciled

Scripture Reading: 2nd Corinthians 5: 20b - 6:2 Sermon Title: Be Reconciled Preached on 2/14/18 Ash Wednesday is a relatively new concept for Presbyterians. Of course, it's not new at all, it's ancient. But it occurs to me that Ash Wednesday still warrants an explanation. After this service if you go to Kroger someone may ask you about the smear on your forehead, and I want you to have a good answer. The Ash Wednesday ashes could be explained this way: "The grass-plot before the jail, in Prison Lane, on a certain summer morning, not less than two centuries ago, was occupied by a pretty large number of the inhabitants of Boston, all with their eyes intently fastened on the iron-clamped oaken door…" These inhabitants, both men and women, busied themselves debating what should become of the woman who was to be released. "This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die," one shouted, but then the lock of the prison-door turned, and out came the condemned, Mistress Hester Prynne. "She bore in her arms a child, a baby of some three months old, who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day;" having grown accustomed to the "grey twilight of a dungeon." "When the young woman - the mother of the child - stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress. [For] on the breast of her gown.. appeared the letter A." Every English teacher knows that these words open The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorn and tells the story of a woman whose guilt was broadcast by the letter A embroidered on all her clothes. There, for everyone to see, was the sign of her sin. What then is this ash that we will soon have on our foreheads? It is our own scarlet letter - it is the symbol of our guilt, our sin, our mistakes, our failures. But here's the miraculous thing about Ash Wednesday - the miracle of this church and all those like it - we all wear our mark boldly, willingly for everyone at Kroger to see. My ashes will be the sign that I am guilty. Guilty by what I have said and by what I have left unsaid. Guilty by what I have done and by what I have left undone. Guilty, disobedient, prideful, selfish, distracted, judgmental, and just as deserving of punishment as every other Puritan assembled outside that prison door. Now consider that. Imagine if everyone who was guilty had a letter on their chest. That's Ash Wednesday. And, when everyone wears their scarlet letter, the symbols power changes. In here, all of us with our shame broadcast for all to see - it's not like the Puritan Settlement, the Middle School, or any other place where the ones who pretend to be innocent circle around the guilty like vultures, because in here we are all acknowledging the truth of who we are - that not one of us has the right to cast the first stone. These ashes help us to get the truth of what we know about ourselves deep down out in the open, the shame that lurks "in here" comes out, and once the truth is out we can stop pretending, we can stop fearing, shame loses its power when it's not kept a secret, and then we are all finally free to follow this great charge that Paul gives in 2nd Corinthians: "Be reconciled" he says. And "be reconciled" is so different from "be condemned" or "feel really guilty" or "you should be ashamed of yourself" because this charge from the Apostle Paul gets to the heart of what our God actually wants - for our God wants reconciliation. Not condemnation - reconciliation. Not shame - redemption. Not secrets - but open hearts. Tonight is about acknowledging sin, but it isn't about guilt. This isn't about shame. This service and these ashes are about confessing the stumbling block and putting back together the relationship that's been harmed by finally being real. Hiding our problems won't make them go away - so we wear this sign on our foreheads and say it plain: "I am a sinner, in need of forgiveness, and I'm ready today to accept the grace our God provides." Why wait? Why hide in the darkness any longer, when we can come into the light right now? That's what tonight is about. We read in 2nd Corinthians: "See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!" These ashes are the confession, that I have not been who I ought to have been, but I am ready to be made new, so this Lent I will give up what stands in my way. So, maybe I will give up Facebook. Then I will spend no more of my precious time searching for political comments that only fuel my anger and further wedge the divide between me and my relatives. Why give up chocolate when I could give up the bad habit that keeps me from reconciliation? If politics is dividing you and your sister - give up the news for these 40 Days of Lent. The world will still turn without you watching, but that chasm between you and her will only grow unless you change the conversation. Let us give up building up walls for Lent and spend this time that we have building bridges. Can we give up fear - anxiety - perfectionism, to really live the life that honors our father in heaven? Be reconciled to God. Give up what holds you back and divides you from the one sitting next to you - give up what keeps you from listening to the Good News and what distracts you from the Holy Spirit. Take out those earbuds and turn off the TV long enough to enjoy the world God created for you to enjoy. And if you do - your relationship with your Creator will be strengthened - and you will give God what God wants - not shame but reconciliation. Be reconciled to God. Open wide your heart - for in the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered for 40 Days in the Desert only to face a brutal death on the Cross, is the obvious sign that God's heart is open wide to you. Remove the stumbling block. Tear down the wall. Turn off the phone. Accept the grace and let it flow out of you. Be reconciled. Amen.