It’s a Mess - Ash Wednesday 2014



Psalm 51
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to Your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be justified in Your words and blameless in Your judgment.
5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6Behold, You delight in truth in the inward being, and You teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that You have broken rejoice.
9Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
18Do good to Zion in Your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19then will You delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Part of my job as the worship director of my church is to create the ashes for the Ash Wednesday worship service. It’s an interesting process and as I was finishing it up this morning, I couldn’t help but make some analogies to a life lived in faith.

The ashes are made from burning the palm branches that have been dried and preserved from Palm Sunday of the year before. Each year, I collect these after the Palm Sunday service and store them in a safe place so that they can dry out in preparation for the next Ash Wednesday. Yesterday, I burned the dried leaves and left them to cool. Because it’s illegal to have an open fire outdoors inside the city limits, I burn them in the kitchen in a big pan. It’s a mess. The smoke hangs on my clothes for the rest of the day. After they’ve cooled, I sift the ashes in order to remove the chunks of stem that didn’t turn into pure ash. What I’m looking for is that very fine powder that is left over from a fire. It’s a mess. The powder just flies around and covers everything. Then you add a few drops of olive oil to the ash powder and stir. It’s a mess. The mixture sticks to everything. Finally you have the finished product, ready to be placed on the foreheads of the worshipers.

Look around the world or even look around your neighborhood; and if you’re brave, look around your own life. It’s a mess. Sin has created nothing but sorrow and trouble wherever you look. And after a sin has occurred, it hangs with you for the rest of the day, maybe the rest of the week, and possibly the rest of your life. The effects of sin cover everything; that fine powder of destruction lays on all that we touch. In the Old Testament a mourner would cover themselves with ashes as a symbol of the fact that they were in deep distress and sorrow. Our sin, when seen correctly, draws us into that same place of sorrow; thus the ashes on the forehead. But the purpose of Lent is to move us toward Easter morning when we celebrate the fact that Jesus has died for all of those sins and we are no longer a people of mourning or sorrow. We are forgiven in the blood of Jesus. While our recognition of ourselves as in deep need of a Savior is vital, so is our acknowledgement that Christ died because of those sins and there is redemption in His work.

I’ve given you a link below to a video that was made by a friend of mine, Pastor Matt Popovits about Ash Wednesday. He really helps bring some understanding to the seriousness of the day and I share it with you now as a blessing. It will enhance your Ash Wednesday, just like pondering Psalm 51 that is presented as our reading for today. May you find yourself very mindful today of the amazing work of Christ upon the cross, performed because our lives are a mess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S9cFakygmY

Generally during Lent I diverge into a series of devotions based on the readings for the week. This year we are going to hang in there with Matthew. Ash Wednesday deserves a moment of consideration and meditation but tomorrow it’s back to the regular study.

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