An Ash Wednesday Sermon

This is the sermon that I offered at both Ash Wednesday services at St. John's Episcopal Church in Dubuque, Iowa. The scripture readings were Joel 2:1-2,12-17, Psalm 103, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10, and Matthew 6:1-6,16-21,

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The late poet Mary Oliver wrote a poem titled,  “The real prayers are not the words, but the attention that comes first.” The poem itself describes the flight of a hawk that is watching, flying, and suddenly diving, coming up with its lunchtime feast. The life of a hawk is one of uncertainty, measured in length by the number of successful lunchtime dives. The details of its life are known to it and to its Creator, but not necessarily to anyone else.
I appreciate the detail that Mary Oliver was able to convey in the title of her piece.  It seems to summarize the words of Jesus in regards to the annual spring cleaning known as Lent. It’s not enough to just engage in fasting, or in almsgiving, or in prayer; rather, part of the process is the mental preparation that will shift our actions from showmanship to authenticity, to authentic prayer that is designed to be between us and God.
Perhap you are a planner.  You’ve used the Lenten planner that was in the bulletin and you’ve got a strategy that you believe will give you a successful Lent.  On the other hand, perhaps you are a spur-of-the-moment person, waiting for some type of Sign that comes from the heavens to inspire you to a Lenten practice. Either way can work, but the time for preparation, for attention to detail, starts now with the ashes on our forehead.
On this journey of Lent, know that you are not involved in a reclusive, isolated solitary journey.  But instead know that you are members of the family of God and that as you reach out to God, God in turn reaches back to you.
There’s a part of the service here at St. John’s each Sunday that I particularly like.  It happens when Father Kevin asks for those with birthdays or anniversaries to come forward, and he prays, the beginning of the prayer is:  “Oh God, our times are in Your Hands.”  
This Lent, during these forty days, what will we do with the time that God has given us?  What will you do with the time that God has given you? What are we preparing to do as we work to strengthen our awareness of God’s Presence in our lives?  What are you preparing to do as you work to strengthen God’s Presence in your life?

It’s forty days, it begins now, God is waiting to be with each and every one of us on this journey.  We just have to step out and start walking. Amen.

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