Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday – February 25, 2004 – Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your lovingkindness;

In your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my sickness,

And cleanse me from my sin.

These are the words that open our worship today. They are most appropriate. Lent is a time for confession. Remember well the discipline of Lent: repentance, fasting, prayer and works of love.

Repentance is that turning around that we need to do. It is turning from our self-willed attitudes to seek God’s gracious forgiveness.

Fasting is doing with less so we can see we need more: God’s gracious forgiveness.

Prayer is conversation with God where we pause long enough to listen for a moment and God speaks to us a gracious word of forgiveness.

Works of love are those things we do to respond to God as we live in the gracious forgiveness God has granted us.

Little wonder we open with:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your lovingkindness;

In your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my sickness,

And cleanse me from my sin.

I wonder what Lent might be like for us if we let these words be our word?

Could we bring to the cross during Lent all our sin? Could we bring here our lack of love for others? You know, the lack of love that has us only half-listening, especially to the one’s we love the most?

The TV drama opens with a husband sitting at the breakfast table reading his newspaper as his wife speaks about the things they need to do. “Remember to pick up Johnny at soccer practice,” she says. He responds, “Uh, huh.” Next she says something like, “and don’t forget to pay the orthodontist.” He responds, “Yeah,” and remains locked on his newspaper. His wife responds, “And by the way, I am running off with the newspaper boy and will need a divorce.” He responds, “OK,” and then pauses and says, “What did you say?”

Have we been there and done that? Have we only listened partially to another who needed us to hear them?

Bring that lack of listening here and confess it, saying,

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your lovingkindness;

In your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my sickness,

And cleanse me from my sin.

How many other sins can we bring here to confess?

+ Can we bring our infidelities?

+ Can we bring our lack of faithfulness?

+ Can we bring our anger and lack of compassion?

+ Can we bring our arrogance and easy answers?

+ Can we bring our wickedness?

+ Can we bring our lack of truthfulness?

+ Can we bring our lack of sacrifice?

+ Can we bring our hesitation to serve the poor?

+ Can we bring our half-heartedness?

+ Can we bring our self-willed attitudes?

How much are we willing to bring to this place and confess? Is this not the purpose and point of Lent? Are not these forty days for us to say,

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your lovingkindness;

In your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my sickness,

And cleanse me from my sin.

Jesus, our Lord, said, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone…” (Mark 11:25). Can we pray today, “Have mercy on me, O God, and grant me grace to forgive others?”

Jesus, our Lord, said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Can we pray today, “Have mercy on me, O God, and give me grace not to think of what I can get, but to think of what I can give?”

Jesus, our Lord, said, “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…” (Matthew 6:3) Can we pray today, “Have mercy on me, O God, and grant that what I give may be given without fanfare or self-congratulation?”

Jesus, our Lord, said, “Do not judge…” (Matthew 7:1) Can we pray today, “Have mercy on me, O God, and grant me the grace today to remove the log in my own eye before I worry about the speck in the other person’s eye?”

Jesus, our Lord, said, “For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” (Matthew 16:26) Can we pray today, “Have mercy on me, O God, and grant me the grace so to believe today that I do not lose my life?”

Can we come here, to the foot of the cross and look up and see the very grace of God for us? It is here, at the foot of the cross that we can come to beg forgiveness. At the foot of the cross we can pray and know that even before we form the words, we are forgiven, because of what God has done in Christ.

So, we pray, at the foot of the cross,

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your lovingkindness;

In your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my sickness,

And cleanse me from my sin.

And we know that God forgives us completely and unconditionally. So, bring your burden and lay it here, at the foot of the cross. This is Lent. Amen.

Pastor Robert F. Holley