Ash Wednesday and the Beginning of Lent

 

A Time of Repentance, Preparation and Reflection 

The season of Lent, a time of repentance, preparation and reflection leading up to Easter is for many Christians the most holy time of the year.  It is the forty day period (forty-six, if we count Sundays) leading to the Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Day.  An important custom in Liturgical Churches such as Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox and Episcopal, the observance of lent is becoming popular in other churches such as the United Methodist, and even some independent churches. 

Ash Wednesday, the first day of lent follows a day known as either Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras: a day in places like Albertville when pancakes, bacon and sausage are eaten, harkening back to the tradition of giving up certain foods as a sign of sacrifice and penitence.  In places like New Orleans and Mobile, the Pancake supper is usually passed over for the Celebration of Carnival ending in the dramatic climax of Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday.” 

Ash Wednesday is a day to slow down, to take a deep breath and to ask God to forgive us of sins past and to “lead us and guide us into all truth.”  The Liturgy, or worship service, on Ash Wednesday at Christ Episcopal Church is quieter and simpler than our normal time of worship on Sunday.  It will provide times for silent reflection on our own lives and how we intend to lead a new life following in the way of Jesus Christ, as well as reflections on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and what this means for the whole world.  Those who would like are also invited to the altar for the “imposition of ashes,” which reminds us that “we are dust and to dust we shall return.”  This simple but powerful act, for me, puts my life in perspective and allows me to see my relationship with God, Neighbor and Self as it really is. 

Ash Wednesday worship begins with the following prayer: 

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have
made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and
make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily
lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission
and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.264) 

This is followed by what, I believe, is the most powerful invitation ever offered to those of us on this journey as God’s people. 

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great
devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and
it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a

season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided 

a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy
Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of
notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful
were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to
the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation
was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set
forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all
Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the
observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance;
by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and
meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning
of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel

before the Lord, our maker and redeemer. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 265) 

And finally a reminder of our mortality and our relationship with God:

 

            Almighty God, you have created us out of the dust of the 
            earth: Grant that these ashes may be to us a sign of our 
            mortality and penitence, that we may remember that it is 
            only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; 
            through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. (BCP, p. 265) 

On Ash Wednesday we begin this powerful journey “through the wilderness” to the day of the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

One More Prophet Raised Up By God

I continue to think about the prophets God raises up in our own day and how some of them have changed my life and the world in which we live.  I want to share two stories from the life of one of my personal prophets, one whose life intersected with mine in more ways than I even knew.  I was not aware of some of her prophetic actions until 2011 when several members of the Albertville High School Class of 1966 gathered for the homecoming football game and then conversation at the home of one of our classmates.  The story shared with us that evening by the woman’s son was a story that changed our lives forever and one of which we were not even aware.  I begin her story in the summer of 1965. 

A group of parents of black children in Albertville asked the county school board to allow their children to attend school where they lived.  At the time, all the black children in the county attended Lakeview School in Guntersville.  The school was substandard, did not have indoor restrooms, a lunch room or a Gym.  Educational materials were also substandard when compared to the materials at the “white schools” in the county.  As a part of this process the then county School Superintendent arranged a meeting with the parents of all the black school children in Albertville.  During the meeting he told the parents that he and many other people in the school system and community, including members of the Ku Klux Klan did not want their children attending school in Albertville and asked them to keep them in school at Lakeview.  

At this point, my classmate’s mother, “the Prophet,” stood up and spoke to the crowd and to the Superintendent. “My children are smart children and deserve the same education your children deserve.  They deserve facilities and resources for their education that will allow them to be the best and most educated persons of which they are capable.  So, regardless of your desires, my children are going to go to school in Albertville.” 

In late August, a yellow school bus, preceeded and followed by cars carrying armed police officers and state troopers, made the rounds of all the Albertville schools. At each school, children were dropped off to attend the school in their home town for the first time.  At the high school where I was a senior that year, either four or five black teenagers got off the bus and joined those of us who had attended school in Albertville for years.  I cannot imagine how it must have felt to be new in a situation like this and I applaud their courage.  And I applaud the courage of a mother who stood up to the power establishment of that day and proclaimed by her actions that “my children are more important than anything you can do to me!”  

Years earlier this mother was singlehandedly responsible for opening up the public library to black children as well as ultimately, adults.  She approached Mrs. Fricks, the wonderful librarian of my growing up years and asked her to allow her children the opportunity to check out books at the library.  This small beginning ultimately led to the Albertville Public Library becoming truly The Public Library.   

Prophets know that one person can make a difference.  I pray that God will touch all of our hearts and give us the courage to be the prophet we are called to be, so that God’s Kingdom will come on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

God, give us that courage to always stand up for what is right no matter what.  Give us grace to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and to respect the dignity of every human being (Book of Common Prayer, p. 305).” 

From a Sermon Preached on February 1, 2015 in Christ Episcopal Church, Albertville, Alabama

God Will Raise Up Prophets

 

Prophets have been a part of almost every major religion in the world.  And prophets have rarely been well liked in most of those religions.  The reason, of course, is that prophets usually communicate a word from God which calls us to be better than we are, to care for the less fortunate, to work for peace and justice, sometimes against our own self-interests.  In short, prophets call us to “love our neighbors as we love ourselves.” 

Without prophets, human relationships do not evolve, injustice does not become justice, wrongs are not righted and the status quo remains.  Prophecy challenges us, prophecy makes us uncomfortable, prophecy pulls us kicking and screaming to be our best selves.  The book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible proclaims the importance of prophets, especially Moses, in leading the people of God into a new life. God also promises through Moses that he “will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. “(Deut. 18:15-20)  For those of us who are Christians, we see this prophet as Jesus.  

Jesus taught like a prophet, “as one with authority,” as we read in Mark’s Gospel (1:21-28).  This prophetic teaching led to the spread of Jesus’ fame and laid a foundation for the establishment of prophetic teaching and living among Christians up to our own day.  In every age God has raised up prophets: Moses, Amos, Jeremiah, John the Baptist and others, ending, and perhaps beginning again with Jesus.  How do we perceive these prophets?  Do we name them as too crazy or too radical for our day and time?  Do they press us with a truth that cuts too deep?  Or, will we hear them, will we receive their words as words of those whose lives display the courage and risk to lead others to places where they themselves will not arrive.  People like Moses, or Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr. or Gandhi, none of whom lived to see the human accomplishment of their goals. 

Prophets are often misunderstood, considered trouble makers or communists or un-American, or just “in the way.”  I clearly remember Martin Luther King, Jr., being labeled a communist by many in the small Alabama town in which I grew up.  There are prophets in every generation and every society.  I want to share part of the story of one person in my life who has been a prophet and whose life helped to make me who I am. 

My friend, “Brother Bob,” was a United Methodist Minister in East Tennessee, who in one season of my life was like a second father to me, and who later became a good friend and colleague.  In the early 1970’s Brother Bob was invited to present the devotion at a rally of the Ku Klux Klan.  Much to the chagrin and fear of his wife, he agreed to do so.  He arrived blindfolded at the remote site of the rally.  As his blindfold was removed, the cross was burning and he was lead to the center of the circle to begin his sermon.  Early on it became obvious to all that the devotion was a modified version of Jesus’ Parable of the “Good Samaritan.”  “The ‘Samaritan’ in the ditch is a black man traveling from Knoxville to Chattanooga and his automobile breaks down along the way.  While trying to repair his car he is robbed and beaten and left in the ditch.  Pastor Jones from the local Baptist Church passes by, sees the black man and keeps on going.  The Klan members cheer.  Next, the mayor of the town passes by, looks in the ditch and moves on.  Again the Klan members cheer.  And then, a Klansman on his way to this very rally drives by, stops and cleans the man up and takes him to the hospital.  Catcalls and boos and obscenities fill the air.  At this point Bro. Bob shouts, ‘how dare you interrupt the Word of God when it is being preached!’ He then proceeds to complete the parable.  As the devotion ends, and the fire is extinguished, the Klan Members leave quietly, without Brother Bob, who now finds himself alone in the woods in the dark. 

My pastor friend slowly finds his way to the dirt road and up the hill to the paved road where he finds a member of his mountain congregation waiting for him in his pickup.  They greet one another and ride in silence to the church where Brother Bob gets into his own car and heads to town.   

Was this action a wise thing to do?  Probably not.  Was it a safe thing to do? I doubt it.  Did it change anything or anybody? Who knows?  Was it prophetic? Yes.  Bob’s actions may are may not have changed the hearts of any of the Klansmen at the rally, but his sharing of the story with me and others has changed our lives and as we share his story with people in our lives, his prophetic act will continue to challenge us to “Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving their neighbors as themselves.”

 

(From a Sermon preached at Christ Episcopal Church, Albertville, Alabama, February 1, 2015)