Ash Wednesday 2015

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

I suspect that there are people who attend the Ash Wednesday liturgy year after year after year, quietly daring the preacher to attempt a passable explanation for why we in the Church read this lesson from Matthew’s Gospel right before we coat our visible foreheads with thick black ashes. 

I am less convinced, but at least to some degree persuaded, that there are many Episcopalians, though none in this room of course, who have convinced themselves that this lesson from Matthew frees one from having to actually talk about Jesus in public.  This gospel passage is perhaps the reason why many Episcopalians invite only one friend to church each generation: one would not want to risk being too public with one's piety – not like those hypocrites with their loud trumpets and flashy displays.

And so we must ask ourselves, what are we doing today?  What does it mean that the Gospel lesson seems to clash with the very liturgy by which it is surrounded?  We hear Jesus condemn public displays of piety just minutes before we wear our faith on our face.  What are we saying here?

It should first be mentioned that public piety was not uncommon in Jesus’ time and place.  The Jewish religion was very much a part of 1st century Jewish daily life.  As we read through the gospels we notice many occasions in which Jesus teaches and interprets the Holy Scriptures quite publicly.  Scribes, Rabbis and Pharisees make regular appearances in the gospels – arguing with Jesus, interacting with people, and considering political matters.  Religion was lived out in the open.  Many times in the Gospels Jesus prays without going into a closet; he prays outside, he prays for the crowds to hear, he prays for astonishing miracles to happen.  Jesus sends his own disciples out into all the world to heal the sick and spread the good news of God’s love.  This was not private stuff; we’re still talking about it 2000 years later.

The important distinction, then, is between public and private acts of piety – doing the private stuff privately and the public worship publicly.  The act of public worship, your liturgical duty, is never private.  We gather as a community of worship; that is what the Church does.  The first of the baptismal vows we make as new Christians is to worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ – the very first one.  We sing together; we pray together; we feast on Word and Sacrament together.  And when we worship together, that is public - unavoidably.  Jesus is not criticizing those who show up for communal worship; we know from the gospels that Jesus regularly attended synagogue – and, it is worth noting, not always quietly. 

Your faith is not meant to be private – just perhaps the private details of your faith.  In the lesson, Jesus says, “Beware of practicing your piety before others.”  But he does not stop there.  He continues, “...in order to be seen by them.”  In the first example Jesus gives he calls out someone giving alms – which is a gift to help the poor.  The giver is not criticized for giving money to help the poor.  Jesus loves the poor.  But the one Jesus criticizes, rather than giving as a faithful response to God’s goodness or out of compassionate concern, gives to be noticed.  The gift is not an investment in the kingdom of God; it is an investment in the giver's public profile.  He pulls out the money for the poor and proceeds to blow a trumpet so that the startled crowd will turn their gaze towards the money as it falls into the receptacle.  A modern example would be if you decided that before placing your offering in the offering plate, you would first stand up and sing a song that detailed the size of your gift.  And did all of this, in the middle of the worship service, while wearing a sequenced outfit and a fancy top hat.  Please don't do that, by the way. 

Today, this public liturgy, these readings, are about our intentions, our motivations.  Most of us, in big or small ways, desire the attention of others – especially positive attention.  We want to hear that our offering is good and helpful and generous.  We want to hear that our prayers are proper and holy.  We want to hear that we are courageous and strong and have tremendous will power when we fast.  We want our contributions to the life of the parish to be noticed and acknowledged, and sometimes even celebrated.  We want positive attention.  We want approval.  And we want it now.  The wait for heavenly treasures can feel like an eternity.

So today remember why you are having ashes applied to your forehead.  The ashes are not a sign of your own greatness or dedication.  They are not a way to prove your religious superiority.  These ashes are a “sign of our mortality and penitence.”  They are not a sign of our own greatness; instead, they remind us, and everyone who sees us today, of the severe limits of our own goodness.  And that is not really something to proudly wear around.

And this is why we read this lesson from Matthew today: to remind us – to remind us of why we wear ashes, to remind us that we have nothing to boast in save the grace of God.  All that we have is a gift from God; so for what reason can we possibly display ourselves, but to show the world how broken we are? 

Our ashes are our witness.  We are mortal.  We are sinners in need of mercy.  And so we wear our ashes before the world, in the public square.  Not to impress onlookers with our extraordinary piety.  We wear our ashes to show the world what makes us common: we are sinners, we are dying and our merciful God loves us so much that our ashes are bearable.