Is.58:1-12
PS. 03
2 Cor 5:20b-6:l0
Matt. 6: 1-6,16-21

ASH WEDNESDAY
7:30 pm Liturgy
& HE 2A

Credit: L.W.Neeb,Road Back to God,pp.3-5 (1995)
Previous: 95,97,98,Ol,04,07

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WHY ARE WE CHRISTIANS?

Today many Christians throughout the world will penitently approach the church altar and receive on their foreheads a cross of ashes:
"Dust you are, and unto dust you shall return," the clergy will say - those are ominous words that remind us that life has its limits, and that physical life ultimately ends in death. Most of us know this already in our better moments; we learn fairly soon in life that if we focus on ourselves, and the pursuit of happiness in this life for its own sake, that happiness crumbles to ashes in our hands - for it requires constant reassurance, and a certainty that cannot be found in this mortal life. We learn, hopefully fairly soon, that the true journey of life is inward; it is a process of discovering more about the meaning of ourselves and of life each day. Happiness is found during that journey, as a by-product when our sights are set somewhere else than on happiness itself.

So where do we set our sights, as Christians?

People are not Christians because of a particular set of rituals that they follow, rituals such as the receiving of ashes. We are not Christians because the Ten Commandments are important in our lives. We are not Christians because we are particularly good or virtuous people. We are not Christians even because we are especially committed to doing good for others.

We are Christians because we believe that God has claimed us, has paid a price for us, has redeemed us through the suffering of His Son. The reason for God's paying this price to reach us, is that God loves us. We believe that God takes delight when we accept His love, and that He is hurt when we reject it.

So the essence of Christian teaching is NOT a set of rules to live by in order to gain God's favor - for all religions have their commandments. What marks the Christian faith as different from others, is that it focuses on God and His love, which is given first, and freely, without cost, to those who will accept it. That is, we love, because God first loved us (I John 4:19). All of the pain has been borne by God. God is so giving of love that He is willing to give up something that He has only one of, namely His Son. "You have been bought with a price," as St.Paul puts it.

So the really good news in the Gospel is that God's love knows no limits. God is extravagant in His love for us, stopping at nothing to reclaim us as His sons and daughters. He is present in the activities of our daily lives in order to draw us to Himself. Behind what often looks like a cold and indifferent universe is a Father waiting to welcome us back with open arms.

When someone loves you, you have power to make that person happy, or power to make that person sad. That's always the way it is with lovers. One little word, or smile, or the smallest of gifts, can bring incredible joy. Indifference can bring misery. Every parent and lover knows this.

Perhaps you remember, when you were a little child, how easy it was, to bring joy, or happy tears, to your parents, with a small gift, especially if you made it yourself. Their love for you was so great, that they could not be really happy without your appreciation and love. The power of love can also be seen in the lives of those who are engaged. The least little gesture that expresses appreciation can bring pleasure to the couple.

Well, so it is with God's love for us. He has made Himself defenseless. He handed Himself over to us, entering human history so that He might become open to our acceptance. That is why there is so much joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. It is like the tears of joy that a child's appreciation of his parents' love, brings to the parents.

So this Lent, try not to focus on yourself and something that you do. Rather, let it be a time of turning towards God - a time of rediscovering the "great things He has done" in your life since He called you by name in Baptism to be His child, despite your poverty and your littleness. Let this be a time when you recognize in His face, not the face of an angry Judge who clobbers you for breaking rules, but One Who was and is, willing to take chances in history to show how much He cares for you. Let it be a season, not of giving up in order to earn a love which is already there - but a season of giving, of sharing in some tangible way, the love which God has for you, the love which He has already given in Jesus Christ.

You have two crosses on your forehead: the Cross of Baptism and the Cross of ashes - pointing to the beginning and ending of life. And God's love is there all through life.

Pray:

You have been bought with a price; therefore
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, for
you belong to God.

O God, whose nature and property is always
to forgive: have mercy on all who do not know
you as you are revealed in the Gospel of your
Son, and bring us all to your fold, joyful in
heart and lightened in spirit, through the same
Jesus Christ our Lord.