Skip to main content

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, something that most people in my tradition do not observe. While that is fine I think there is a lot to be gained from observing the season of Lent. As we head towards Holy Week (the last week of Jesus' life prior to the Resurrection) Christians have long held observances to reflect on Christ and better understand God, ourselves, and the world.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a season of fasting, prayer, and contemplation. Ash Wednesday is a day all about sin and our need to repent. This is something I believe we often don't do enough if at all. Sin has become a minor inconvenience, more of a personality flaw than a deeply immoral and ungodly condition. 

Sin is serious. Just this past week a major Christian apologist and leader was revealed to have been a sexual predator for years. This man was, while he was alive, most likely the best known and most respected Christian speaker and apologist in the world. Now after his passing his own organization revealed the devastating pain and evil this man had caused and that had been forcibly covered up.

There is not a single one of us who is immune to sin. We all worship idols and cause harm to ourselves and our neighbors. As we approach the anniversary of the Cross we must be humble. The atoning death of Christ was necessary for me to ever know God and experience true life. 

However, all is not hopeless. Ash Wednesday is also a call to repentance because repentance is possible. Turn away from sin, from idols, and from temptation. Fix your eyes upon Jesus and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can stand before the Father as a child of adoption calling out "Abba!" 

So today I invite you to reflect on your sins and repent. I invite you to fast and pray today. Abstain from food and entertainment to better understand our utter dependence on God alone.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Augustine of Hippo: Historical Friday

We pause our overview of the history of Christianity to talk about an extremely influential figure, whether we realize it or not. Augustine of Hippo, so called because he lived in the town of Hippo Regius, has had a tremendous amount of influence on Christianity in the western world. Many of the theological conversations we have in our churches today have been directly shaped by this man. Many of the terms and ideas we throw around originated with Augustine.  Today we are going to look at SOME of the ideas that Augustine has shaped. In reality this man has touched in some way or another every aspect of Christian thought. If I had to choose the most influential people on Christianity outside of Jesus and the Apostles, Augustine might very well be number one alongside Martin Luther. Before we get into the theological ideas, a brief biography is in order. Brief Biography Augustine's story is actually very interesting, one I cannot hope to do justice here. If you are intereste...
Post a Comment
Read more

Christ is Risen

This is the manuscript of a sermon I preached on Easter Sunday, 2021. All around the world people of every tribe, nation, and tongue gather to celebrate the pinnacle of history. Almost two thousand years ago to the day everything changed for the human race and indeed the cosmos. The word went out that death had been broken because Christ is Risen. Blessed by Providence we gather here today to celebrate the triumph of life over the powers of death and darkness. We gather to participate in the Resurrection Body of our Lord. We gather to behold the beauty of God displayed in the trampling of death by death on the cross, a victory of which we can be assured because Christ is Risen. Glory to the Father, glory to the Son, and glory to the Holy Spirit. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts overflow with adoration and praise for our Almighty God. We can rest assured in the comfort of his grace because Christ is Risen. Dear brothers and sisters if Easter Sunday is about ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Justice

Our view of justice is narrow and limited. Typically when we, as Christians, talk about justice we are really only referring to punishing wrongdoers for their crimes. While that is certainly a part of justice that isn't the only thing. In the Bible justice consists of much more. Consider the book of Amos, one of the minor prophets and therefore a book that most Christians barely touch. Amos is announcing judgment against the nation of Israel for their infidelity to their covenant with God. What do you think is the most repeated indictment against Israel? Interestingly it's not idolatry, sexual immorality, or war although these things are mentioned. The primary sin of in Amos is Israel's neglect of the poor and their oppression of the needy. Over and over again Amos declares that judgment is coming to Israel because of their treatment of those less fortunate. The poor are trampled and the needy are crushed. There is no justice in the land. Biblical justice includes both crim...
Post a Comment
Read more