Sermon for Ash Wednesday - The Ven. Pat Zifcak - March 2nd 2022
To view a video of the Ven. Pat Zifcak’s Sermon, click HERE.
“Dear people of God”. Those words begin the Invitation to the Observance of a Holy Lent. They are some of the most meaningful and powerful words I encounter in our prayer book. In those four words, we know who we are, whose we are, and how God perceives us. We are dear to God. There are no qualifiers in this statement. We are whole because we are of God; we are loved because we are God’s; we are blessed because we are called into community by God. There are no qualifiers. Whatever we have earned or been given, whatever kindness we offer or accept, whatever comfort we provide, whatever wrongs we commit, we are God’s.
Because our God is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, does not mean that we should put God to the test. God’s faithfulness should be returned by our compassion and mercy, our patience and kindness.
What will shape your Lenten journey this year? I have given up things important enough to remind me that I am in Lent; I have taken on things that I dislike enough to remind me that I am in Lent. Is that the way of faithfulness God would ask of me? Remember that in the early church, Lent was a time of preparation for the passion and resurrection of Jesus, a time of preparation for Holy Baptism. It was a time of restoration for those whose actions had separated them from the fellowship of the Church. Nothing so simple as giving up hot chocolate or reading a book. Simple because those things are not likely to lead to life changing transformation. This fast that I choose will not loose the bonds of injustice. It is not enough to give up hot chocolate unless the emptiness that causes drives me to offer a warm drink to someone standing in the cold on a winter morning. It is not enough to read another book unless what I read inspires me to leave my favorite chair and do something in response to what I have read. Lent is a time to create a habit of the heart, a time to add a new practice of repentance and faith.
Whatever our Lenten practice, let it remind us of the chance we have to make a right beginning with God and one another as we journey together toward Jerusalem. As Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians, we, who are forgiven, must forgive; we, who are loved, must love. Keeping our relationship with Jesus hidden from the world, responding to one another as the world responds, assuming God’s forgiveness, ignoring God’s grace are all missed opportunities to transform the world.
The Roman Empire is not pressing in on us from every side as it was in Corinth, but the forces of evil are at the door. Put on the armor of light and open the door! The power of the resurrection lies in the journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Hearing the ancient story of God’s saving grace throughout all ages should give us hope and courage to face what overwhelms us and to stand together for all who cannot stand.
Who are we today and who will we be tomorrow? In part, the answer to that question for each of us lies in our desire to be more and more the person God calls us to be and believes we can be.
This Lent I invite you to join me in a practice of corporate prayer. When you wake every morning and before you rise from bed, pray “Today, your will not mine be done.” At the end of the day, as you settle into sleep, pray “Thank you, God, for all the blessings of this day, known and unknown. Two one sentence prayers. Pray faithfully and notice any changes that occur within you or the world as you encounter it every day. Share what you experience with others making their Lenten journey beside you. It is possible that God will take this small intention and create in us a right spirit for the work of God in the world.
Dear people of God remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. No qualifiers. No rich or poor, no slave or master, no Jew or Gentile. All in its season withers and vanishes. It is how we live the life we have been given that makes all the difference.