Sermon - Ash Wednesday

2024 Ash Wednesday 

Joel 2:12-19         2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10          Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen. 

Ashes are the remnant of something that once was. The ashes in the fireplace are the remnants of the solid wood that was once a great tree. The ashes of the house that once stood at the corner, handsome, well-kept, a comfortable place for families to dwell, but now, due to fire, are all that remain.  Sifting through the ashes, one recalls the memories that were made in that place. When we find something that is recognizable, perhaps a picture frame or a toy, specific memories spring forth from the well of experiences.  

When we consent to receive ashes upon our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, it is a sign and symbol that we are humbled before the Lord Almighty and before one another. We confess that we are sinners. No matter how good we strive to be. No matter how successful we may be at being a child, spouse, or parent, growing into our work vocation, or positively impacting our community; Our innate fallenness does not leave us and it complicates all of our relationships and the purity of our goals. Before God, on our own, our efforts are inadequate to please Him.

The ashes imposed upon us are accompanied by those sobering words: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.”  Those words are lifted from Genesis 3:19. They are the final words of judgment that the LORD God renders upon the serpent, Eve, and Adam on account of the trickery and disobedience that took place in the Garden of Eden. The serpent easily convinced Eve and Adam that God really did not mean what He said. And, they were all too glad to receive an alternate interpretation of the LORD’s word, “You shall not eat of…” 

For their disobedience, God renders a judgment upon the Serpent, Woman, and Man that remains to this day.  There is no reasonable reason to think that with all our technology, all our history, all our enlightenment, that if we are put into another Garden of Eden situation that we would suddenly choose better. No, the corruption continues to this day in every situation and relationship we find ourselves in. The ashes we bear represent the remnant of an innocence and pure relationship with the LORD God. The fire that destroyed that relationship was our disobedience. Those ashes convey our sorrow, our contrition, our desire to repent of the myriad ways in which we have disobeyed and sinned. 

Yet, as God renders His judgment upon the serpent, Eve, and Adam, He extends a merciful promise to Eve and Adam and all their progeny. In Genesis 3:15, the LORD declares to that slippery serpent we also call Satan: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Biblical commentators have long understood Genesis 3:15 as a prophecy of the coming Christ.  Christ Jesus is the second Adam. The second Adam chooses correctly. He does not disobey when tempted.  He is obedient even unto death on the cross.

The ashes imposed upon us are in the sign of cross. This day of repentance would be utterly devoid of hope if it were not for Christ and His cross. 

When we survey the destruction that a fire renders upon a forest, a field, a house, or city; when we look upon the ashes that remain; we are saddened, often beyond words, because of the destruction and loss that lays before us. Yet, we are not without hope because a new forest and a new field will grow back. A new house and new city can be built again. 

Christ was promised to Adam and Eve. Christ’s obedience led to his sacrificial death on the cross. From his cross, Christ bears the sin of the world upon himself. He bears our sins.  He dies for those sins. On account of Christ’s sacrifice, our heavenly Father declares us forgiven.  We give thanks to God that the Holy Spirit has created faith within us to receive His mercy.  We cannot earn His mercy. Our LORD’s forgiveness is His gift to us. His forgiveness renews our life. The LORD’s salvation gives us hope for an everlasting future. 

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” On this day, we remember that we have sinned. We remember that on account of disobedience our days are numbered. We shall die. We remember that on account of the love and mercy of Christ Jesus, death does not have the last word. God’s forgiveness and salvation means that an everlasting life in a new paradise awaits us. 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.