Ash  Wednesday                                                                 February 25, 2009

A HOLY LENT

The Rev David Kidd

Ash Wednesday is all about the good news of a  forgiving God.   It=s not about long faces and sackcloth  and ashes.   It=s about the God who is always ready to  forgive, always ready to show mercy; the God who  loves us so much that he freely chose to be born as  one of us, to experience life as we live it.

The Psalmist puts it this way in Psalm 130:

AIf you kept a record of our sins, who could escape  being condemned?   But you forgive us, so that we  should reverently obey you.   ...    ...   Israel, trust in the  Lord, because his love is constant and he is always  willing to save.   He will save his people Israel from all  their sins.@   (Ps 130:3‑4, 7‑8)

Tonight=s lessons remind us that we are not in  control.   God is in control, but God is not controlling.  We are not in control, but we are in charge, and we  are responsible.   God demands justice, compassion,  mercy, and humility on our part, but God is not Athe  enforcer@.   Because we live in a moral universe, these  things are Aself‑enforcing@.   To do these things results  in peace and goodness; to fail to do them results in  turmoil and evil of our own making.

Isaiah couldn=t say it more clearly:   AIf you put an  end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and  to every evil word; if you give food to the hungry and  satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness  around you will turn to the brightness of noon.   And I  will always guide you and satisfy you with good things.   I will keep you strong and well.   You will be like a  garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water  that never goes dry.@   (Is 58:9‑11)

The focus here is very strongly on the positive.   Our Lenten fast is not a time for wallowing in guilt and  self‑doubt.   Rather, it is a time ripe with opportunity  to do good, both to ourselves and to others.