February 18, 2015
Ash Wednesday
Joel
2:12-17a CEB
Matthew
6:1-6, 16-21 CEB
The Math of Lent
As
we enter this time of Lent, we remember that it is a time of self-reflection, a
time when our hearts turn towards the journey to the cross, a time when we
ponder on the gift that God so freely gives to you and to me. . . the gift of
redemption and forgiveness wrapped in a cross on top of a hill from so long
ago. As I reflect on my life and walk with God I am reminded by the reading
from Joel that it is not the outside that God is concerned with, it is not my
outward appearance but the appearance of my heart. . . how is it really with my soul. God is waiting for
the day when all of His creation turns back to Him as He had planned for it to
be from the very beginning.
There
is sort of a Math having to do with
Lent. There is a letting go. . . a subtraction of the things that bind us and
there is a picking up of. . . an addition of the things and practices that
bring us closer to God. It’s like packing for a trip. . . you see sometimes we
pack too much for the journey. . . we get a little carried away with the just
in case stuff that there is either no room for the important or we are so
waited down that we are too tired for the journey. So. . . we decide to let go
of what we feel we need to let go of but that in itself can be a problem. Let
me read to you about some subtraction and addition in scripture. . . listen to
what can happen if we get too much of this addition and subtraction math. . . the
scripture is found in Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-21. . .
Matthew
6:1-6, 16-21 New Living Translation (NLT)
“Watch
out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will
lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need,
don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to
call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have
received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in
need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your
gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. “When
you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street
corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the
truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by
yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then
your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
“And
when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look
miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell
you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast,
comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are
fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father,
who sees everything, will reward you. “Don’t store up treasures here on earth,
where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and
steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and
thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires
of your heart will also be.
There
is a danger of adding too much and we want to show how religious we are to
those who are around us. . . all this addition and subtraction can make our
heads explode. . . but then you have to add in the multiplying that we may feel
we need to do. . . take on more projects, do more than our share of different
new and improved things that will make us super Lenten warriors , and the like,
only to wind up frustrated and overtired and not even sure what this whole Lent
thing is about. . . It becomes all about us and what we do and less about what
God did, has done and continues to do. . .
How
fitting it is that we begin our Lenten journey in ashes. . . the thought brings
us back to the reality it’s not about us. . . Titus tells us that it is not by
what we do that we are saved but by God’s grace we are redeemed. There may be reasons why we need to unpack or
add in our spiritual life and that’s OK. . . as long as we don’t lose sight of
what the Lenten journey is. . . it’s our journey of reflection and hope. . . it’s
the road. . . our means of access. . . we travel to the destination at the end
of our 40 day journey. The place where God showed His greatest compassion and
mercy. . . the place where He gave His Son to die in our stead so that we may
have life renewed and redeemed. . . the foot of the Cross of Calvary. It is
good that we begin in ashes for it is by ashes we were made and to ashes we
will return. Wednesday’s ashes. . . God transformed into the beauty of the
cross for me and for you.
Amen.
====
February 24,
2015
Ash Wednesday
service
Joel 2:12-17a
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Prayer of Confession
Imposition of Ashes
Communion
Lenten poem:”Changer: A Lenten
Poem”
by Adrienne Sparrow Trevathan
sermon, “The
Math of Lent”
video:
text:
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
and closing
hymn,
“It Is Well
with My Soul”
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
Ash Wednesday
February 18,
2015
&
Isaiah 58:5-10
Burning of the
Palm service
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
February 17,
2015 and February 18, 2015
&
Worship Theme – “Ash Wednesday”
Prelude
Unison Prayer
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (CEB)
Joel 2:12-17a (CEB)
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 51:3)
Pastoral Prayer
Word of Assurance (GBOD 2012)
Thanksgiving over the ashes
Distribution of the Ashes
hymn, “Sunday’s Palms Are Wednesday’s Ashes” TFWS #2138
and Ash Wednesday Meditation,
sermon, “The
Math of Lent”
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH
Ash Wednesday
February 22, 2012
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reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage.
See all 36,050+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
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