Lent: Beginning the Journey

Today (March 1, 2017) is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 days of Lent as we journey together toward Holy Week and Easter. The early church started looking at the 40 days Jesus fasted in the wilderness before defeating Satan (Matt. 4) as a template for taking time as an opportunity for fasting, extra prayer and contemplation, and repentance. But, some might ask, doesn't the Bible say God doesn't remember my sins? So why should
I? Good question. As my Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian and other friends in liturgical churches go today and receive a smear of ashes on their heads, it's a good time for me to stop and consider the same question. Will you join me?

Psalm 103:12 says "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" and that whole psalm is a song of praise to the goodness of God within his covenant with Israel. That covenant has now been expanded to all humanity through Jesus: "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 3:6). We are all gathered into that same grace given through Jesus, by his life with us in the flesh, his death for us from and for our sins, and his resurrection to new life which gives us new life.

So why should we repent of sins that are already forgiven by God? Let's remember, salvation is not a mere transaction, but entering into a relationship of love with God. As we live our lives within that relationship, we gain--and lose--focus on the Lord, day by day. Some days it's pretty straightforward to follow the promptings of the Spirit to live "in Christ."  Other days, not so much. We still have self-will, wherein we want God, but we want him our way -- we want to keep our routine and our habits, some of which aren't life-giving, while we still claim to follow God. Lent is a time to stop and examine our motives and our activities in the light of the holiness God wants to grow in us (Heb. 12:14), and to recognize the places where we're still falling short.

The Holy Spirit within us constantly urges us to bring our whole selves before God openly and honestly, but like Adam and Eve, we still try to hide in the bushes. That must change. Jeremiah 29:13 gives a thought, in the middle of God speaking to the Jews in captivity, that "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." And in a nutshell, that's what Lent is about:  stopping to surrender our whole hearts to him.

The ashes my friends receive today remind them that we are but ashes and dust (Gen. 18:27, Job 42:6); and those ashes, as an ancient sign of repentance, (Ezek. 27:30) remind us that although we've been called into Christian life, our lives don't yet fully reflect Jesus. Our journey continues into the heart of God, and as long as we're alive, we'll find places in our hearts to surrender to his loving care. I'm on that journey more intentionally these 40 days. Will you join me?