First Lutheran Church
February 26, 2020 + Ash Wednesday
“Marked with the Cross”
Pastor Greg Ronning
Today we begin that strange Christian tradition known as the season of “Lent.” We begin a contrary practice that involves intentionally turning away from the “road well-traveled” and onto that “road less traveled.” We let go of popular convention and we acknowledge the “ash” of our existence. We line up to come forward and be reminded that, “We are dust, and to dust we shall return.” We choose to stop covering up and glossing over our fears and wounds, and in humility we embrace our frailties, the brokenness of the world around us, and even our own mortality.
In order to do this, many of us will endeavor to practice a variety of Lenten disciplines. We will “give up” things in order to create time and space for reflection, prayer, service, offerings, and the spiritual growth that comes from these practices. We will seek out “wilderness” opportunities; adventures into uncomfortable places, forgotten places, and broken places. We will mute our “alleluias” in order to experience life from a different perspective, from a different tone; in order to allow ourselves the opportunity to go deeper, the opportunity for more intense personal and communal reflection in the more “difficult” areas of life.
Today we begin this Lenten journey, these spiritual disciplines, with the hope that God will meet us somewhere along the way, somewhere in the “giving up” that creates liminal space; and that in that encounter along “the road less traveled,” we might find the newness of life, the healing of grace and mercy, the truth that sets one free, the truth that sets all creation free, a righteousness that might open the doors to justice, a love that might fill our hearts to overflowing, - the resurrection life of Easter, a resurrection unto life abundant and eternal.
And it all begins today on Ash Wednesday with a powerful act of faith, - the sign of the cross marked in ash on our foreheads. It’s a powerful ritual that reminds us, not just of our mortality, but even more importantly just who we are, - the beloved children of God. It is a ritual that paradoxically provides us with the strength and courage and resolve that makes the Lenten journey possible. A ritual that takes us from death to life.
For many of us the sign of the cross was first made with oil on our foreheads at our baptism as the pastor spoke these, or similar, words, “Child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the Cross of Christ forever.” It was this cross made in oil at our baptism that makes it possible for us to bear the cross of ash that was imposed today. For it is only in our identity as the beloved children of God that we are able to embark on the Lenten Journey that is before us.
This Sunday we will hear the story of Jesus baptism. After his baptism Jesus will be led, or driven by the Spirit, into the wilderness for forty days, to endure temptation in order to prepare for his public ministry. Jesus is only able to make this journey because at his baptism, the heavens parted, and God proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son.”
Last Sunday we heard the story of The Transfiguration. Once again, this time on the mountain top, God proclaims, “This is my beloved Son.” It is in the affirmation of this beloved identity that Jesus is empowered to come down off the mountain and begin his journey to Jerusalem, his journey to the cross.
And so it is with us! Once again it was the cross made in oil at our baptism that makes it possible for us to bear the cross of ash that was imposed on our foreheads today. It is only in our identity as the beloved children of God that we are able to embark on the Lenten Journey that is before us. For it is the cross made at our baptism, the promises made at our baptism, that make it possible for us to find hope in the midst of all the ashes in our life. Hope because ultimately this cross proclaims that we are the beloved children of God. Hope because we are not alone, we are members of the family of God. Hope because we are loved unconditionally and forever. Hope, “For if we have been united with Christ in a death, we shall certainly be united with Christ in resurrection.” Our Lenten journey will not make us the beloved children of God, our identity as the beloved children of God make our Lenten journey possible.
May God bless our Lenten Journey with the hope and confidence that is ours in Christ Jesus. May the sign of the cross; made in oil at our baptism, and made in ashes today, remind us that we are the beloved of God, united with Christ in death and in resurrection unto life. May our Lenten journey draw us deep in the abundant life that God has prepared for us in Christ Jesus. Amen.