Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Go to iTunes or SoundCloud for Audio Podcast
Original Manuscript:
Our Gospel lesson for today, the one we read on Ash Wednesday every year, is right there in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount. It is right after the Lord's Prayer, in fact. And it has come after Jesus' expounded, perhaps expanding, on the law. It's there Jesus tells us things like "You have heard it said to those of old, 'you shall not murder', but I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother is liable for judgement." Basically, Jesus is telling us that following the letter of the law is not as important as following the spirit of the law. Jesus is saying that what is in our hearts, our motivation, is just as important as what we do and show on the outside.
It is in that spirit that Jesus talks about fasting and prayer in our reading today. What is it that we want to accomplish? Why do we do what we do?
If your purpose in coming here to worship is to be seen, if you are here for your own glory, then, as Jesus says, you've received your reward. That is, you've gotten what you came here to receive.
But if you came here to be closer to God, to build your relationship with Him, and if you desire that with all of your heart, then you will receive that too. If that is your focus, if that is your motivation, then you have made a huge step in renewing your relationship with God. You have made that step to be closer to Him.
Why we are here in this church is very important. If we're here for our own glory, if we are here to build ourselves up, then that is all we will receive. We will get what we want, but it will fade away.
If, on the other hand, we desperately desire to be closer to God, then we will be turning back to be in relationship with the only one who can offer us life, purpose, and being. He is the only one who can give us back what we actually need to have life and substance.
If we come into this building looking merely to build ourselves up, then we will ultimately fail. We will not be paving the way for those after us. After all, if church is but an empty gesture, a way to prop ourselves up, then what is the point? There are other, better ways to make ourselves seen, honored, and respected by the world.
But if we come here seeking to be reunited with God, then this place will flourish. Then this place will be the life-giving place it is meant to be.
Lent is a time for reflection, for turning back to God. Let it be that for you. Seek not your own glory, but seek to become closer to the one who has the ways of life, and wishes to give that to you abundantly.