Ash Wednesday "Baptized Dust"

Isaiah 58: 1-12 Matthew 6: 1-21 Ironically, because of the Winter Olympics, the Academy Awards were delayed until Sunday night. Ironically, because in this evening's reading from Matthew 6 the word translated as Hypocrites, “When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand in the Synagogue and on Corners that they may be seen... When you fast, do not look dismal like hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others...” that Greek word hypocrites is actually the word for Actors on Stage. Actors quite literally were hypocrites because as persons they might believe and act one way, while on stage they took on a different role, character, morals and attitudes from who they truly were. Life is a great theater. Moses went up the Mountain and the curtain of cloud closed behind him. Generations later Solomon built the Great Temple, inside of which, behind a curtain was The Holy of Holies, where the High Priest acting as Moses would go in to commune with God, demonstrating other people's burnt offerings, and come out from behind the curtain to bless and pray with the people. Although the culture of Ancient Rome & Today are vastly different, one similarity is that Life is a different kind of Theater than the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, there were Commandments to avoid sinning, the “Thou Shalt Nots,” whereas in the New Testament and our own time, Jesus and we assume all people know “Thou shalt not Murder, Steal, Lie, Commit Adultery, or Covet” and we live in a world of trying to obey the “Thou Shalt Honors.” The difficulty being who we regard as our Parents, Neighbors, God, Sabbath, what it means to honor, how often we honor these, and how to do so without life becoming about appearances, show and deceit. Years ago, before Seminary, I served on a Fund-raising Committee trying to encourage people giving. Someone came up with the idea of having different color offering envelopes, that a $10 Offering would be Beige, a $20 Contribution would warrant Green envelopes, a $50 gift would be Bright Yellow, a $100 would be Gold, a $1,000 would have a flash of light as the Offering plate took your photo, and Direct Deposit from your bank account would cause a Trumpet Fanfare. We laugh about that, but, at one time Alms-giving, making public gifts to those who were in need, was rewarded with a Trumpet Fanfare that all would know what you had done. There was also a time in most American churches where we rented our pews, and the pews down front where everyone could see you being in worship were the most expensive. How odd, that today the front seats are reserved for the choir and the coveted seats are those in the back. Jesus was redefining “Good Theater.” What Jesus actually was identifying was: Choose what kind of Hypocrite you desire to be? Who gave the most outlandish performance, the most off-character, the most believable performance, who was the most entertaining, which performance had the best Computer Animation, OR performances that are true to life reality, with a secret? While all the world sees us perform life, what we do in faith is what we are to do in secret, seen only by God. This is Counter-Cultural! Faith is not about instant gratification, not about immediate solutions, or Advertising, not about Fashion or Popularity. So who are we, behind the facade, the make-up? The message of Ash Wednesday is we have a public personae and a private one. The ashes are the burned residue of the palm branches of Palm Sunday a year ago. But marking with the Ashes, Smudging, is not only about letting go the last year, Ashes have always been a symbol of Mortality. The Public personae is we are dust, common, ordinary and decaying. While we may be very good at a profession or vocation, what we discover in retirement and based on the economy is none of us is defined by being a Salesman, a Teacher, a Doctor, a Pastor, so-and-so's Mother or Spouse. We are dust. In recent decades Cremation has become far more common. I am continually intrigued by those who are troubled by Cremation. What has been lifted up to me is a literal belief that on a final day, Graves will be opened and our bodies will be transported to heaven, so what everyone is looking for is who can have the best make-up and fanciest clothes when they are buried because that is how you will be in heaven. That is utter non-sense. The idea of a New Heaven and New Earth is that there will be no need for Walkers or Canes, Crutches or Hearing Devices, all Creation will be as God intended. But Cremation has gotten us back in touch with elements many of us had hidden. For generations now, we have hidden our feelings and emotions behind having a lovely coffin, a beautiful funeral where no one said an unkind word. We drove to cemeteries where we left the coffin and returned the following day to find green grass growing. By handling the ashes, death is again far more real, and we each struggle with what we are going to do with one another. Many have elected to bury the ashes themselves, or to sprinkle in some favorite place. One of the most real, I experienced was a freshman in College who loved the outdoors. He died in an accident, and all the High School and College Classmates and their families joined together for the memorial. Afterward the casket was carried to the Hearse, and we were all to go have a meal together. But hearing the car door close and watching as the car drove away from us was a little too real. One of my favorites, was that we had a young woman about 35 or 40 who began coming to worship, trying to be anonymous. Coming week after week, people found a way to get to know her. We made the invitation, not that anyone had to, but that you are wanted, and if you so chose we would love for you to become part of this body. She always declined, making it seem as though she would not be in town long enough. Eventually, she stopped coming and while we missed her, we had no way of tracking her down and thought she had moved. One day the phone rang, and a stranger's voice asked if we knew this woman. As the Pastor, I described we did, she had come to worship and fellowship very regularly, then disappeared. The voice on the phone described being the woman's sister, that she had had cancer and had died. Going through her belongings, her sister was quite surprised because their family had never been religious, that she had taken notes on several bulletins, and newsletters, and a church cookbook. Her sister thanked us for having cared for one she loved, though her faith had been a secret from everyone, even her family. A colleague described that when they die, they want a drum to be beating throughout the memorial, to symbolize how everyone gathered was held in this person's heart. Personally, I hope and pray that when I die, there will be consolation, there will be nothing left undone, that life was lived to its fullest and most honest with no regrets. The fact of the matter is that as often as we celebrate Baptisms at birth, what we are claiming is not the giving of a name to a baby, not the Christening of a new addition, but the gift of this soul to God. In the Sacrament of Baptism you are given to God as a gift of love and devotion, that you belong to God forever. That does not end with death. Our Baptism is complete, because our souls are released from this mortal seed. Forever more we are Baptized Dust. Going to the Hospital today, there was fascination, that some individuals had gone to morning Mass and received the smudging, so as to wear the mark of the Ashes all day for others to witness. I would encourage, that when you get home, you go to look in the mirror. Before sleep, that you wash your face clean. The point is not that others see you got ashes, but that tomorrow morning looking in the mirror, and tomorrow night, and all the tomorrows, that you would know that you were smudged and marked with the ashes. We are Baptized Dust, claimed by God for all Eternity, and very very Human.