Father Riley's sermon for Palm Sunday

Upcoming services and activities: 
..Everyone is welcome to join us March 25th at noon for our Good Friday service.  Father Riley will be officiating for Good Friday and in our joyful Easter Sunday service at 10am March 27th.  Please bring fresh flowers to add to our Easter Cross Easter Sunday.  Fellowship will follow in the Parish Hall following the Easter service.
..Father Riley will start back up our informational classes Sunday April 10th at 9am in the Parish Hall.  The classes are open to all interested in the history and teachings of the Episcopal Church.

 

 

 

PALM SUNDAY - C - 16               THE PASSION  OF LUKE

 

 

 

 The Palm Sunday liturgy is the only one that has two gospel readings; the one containing the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that is associated with the liturgy of the palms and the reading of the Passion within the Eucharistic liturgy.

 

The two readings cover a matter of days in the life of Jesus, but for us a matter of minutes. Because our time is short in reflecting on these two readings that taken together represent the beginning and the ending of Holy Week, we often miss the depth of their meaning.

 

Traditionally we participate in the liturgy of the palms by processing and singing “All Glory Laud and Honor,” this being the closest thing to our being there as He entered the Holy City and laying our coats on the road for Him to ride on. In this we take our place in the crowd that welcomed him to Jerusalem by singing Alleluias and waving palm branches in their hands.

 

At the reading of the Passion we remain seated listening as the all too familiar drama is played out: the Last Supper, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, and the trials before the Jews and finally Pilate, until He is crucified, and then we stand, as those stood who watched him die on the cross; those who stood close to him and ridiculed him, as well as his friends who stood at a distance and wept. Christ has finally met his destiny.

 

Jesus does not die alone. Luke tells us that there were two thieves crucified alongside him, one on his right and one on his left. The leaders scoffed at him saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers joined in as well  ridiculing him, even one of the thieves dying next to him mocked him, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

 

But the other did not. The other thief was the only one who stood up for Jesus that day. Not only did he defend Jesus as an innocent man, but he believed that Jesus was who he said he was and asked that Christ remember him when he came into his kingdom.

 

The faith Christ had been looking for so long within Israel throughout his earthly ministry manifests itself in a dying thief crucified next to him; “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus then gives one last earthly promise: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

 

Isn’t that what we all want? When this earthly life has ended to be remembered by God?

 

With each Lent the image of the dying Jesus on the cross is impressed on the eyes of the world, even on those eyes that see only TV or some aspect of social media. How do people react? Better yet, how do we react?

 

There are those who possess the same unbelieving demands, who in times of despair and pain, or simply out of ignorance wag their heads and say “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” Others look at the dying Jesus and acknowledge their own failures and admit responsibility, even going so far as to rebuke the unbelievers, “Do you not fear God? We are receiving the due rewards of our deeds.” But those, alas, are far and few between.

 

Some concede that he was merely a good man who came to a terrible end who got caught between politics and religion because his words and actions threatened the status quo. “This man has done nothing wrong.” And there are some who look to Jesus on the cross and simply cry for help.” Jesus remember me.”

 

What do you see when you look at the cross? I can only answer for myself. I look at the cross with body of the dying Jesus nailed to it and my problems and my pain are pale compared to His suffering. When I look at the cross I see myself next to him, in the thief who asked to be remembered, and who acknowledged his own sins and believed in Jesus. I too want to, as we all want, to be remembered by Him.

 

That’s why I have a crucifix in every room of my house, to remind me of what is really important.

 

The thief who asked to be remembered  lived with the hope of paradise; of being in the presence of God not really knowing what that might mean. He was on the other side of the cross. You and I live with the hope of the resurrection. We are post-Easter Christians. We live on this side of the cross.

 

What a difference it makes in our day to day living to live with faith in the promises of God as seen through the Resurrection.

 

The central act of Christian worship is the Holy Eucharist. In it we take our place in the upper room as the drama of that mystical event is reenacted. In it we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus as we participate in the Last Supper. It is the closest we can get to actually having been there. What a difference the words “Take eat; take and drink” mean when viewed through the Resurrection.

 

In receiving the Blessed Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood we remember Him, as He commanded us to do and the price He paid for our sins and the sins of the world in the Hope that one day, like the thief  on the cross, we too will be remembered by Him. AMEN+

 

Father Riley's homily for March 13, 2016

Father Riley's Episcopal classes continue next Sunday, Palm Sunday, March 20th in the Parish Hall.  Please join us as we prepare for Holy Week and Easter.

 

 

5 LENT - C - 16                                              JOHN 12: 1-8

 

 

“Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany…” Our Lenten journey has brought us very near to the Holy City to the small village of Bethany, a mere two miles southeast of Jerusalem on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. Jesus and his disciples have been invited to a dinner party in the home of his dear friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus whom he has recently raised from the dead.

 

As usual, Martha is serving while Lazarus sits at table with Jesus and the disciples. Mary is again sitting at Jesus’ feet not merely listening as she did on his prior visit to their home, but instead she is engaged in an act of love. She anoints Jesus’ feet with an expensive ointment and wipes them with her hair.

 

The disciples are dumb struck. No self respecting Jewish woman would ever let her hair down in public, must less in the company of so many men.

 

Judas alone speaks, but not to condemn Mary for breaking social protocol, but to object to the use of such expensive ointment that could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

 

Does Mary know something that the disciples do not? No, for Jesus has told his disciples on three separate occasions that he will die in Jerusalem. If anything, Mary is anticipating not only his death, but a hasty burial without the proper preparation. Thus her act of love towards Jesus is done without regard to what the others in the room may think of her or her actions.

 

Jesus quickly stifles Judas’ objection and in his response to him implies that Mary should keep the rest of the ointment for that very day; a day now looming in the near distance. The preparation to come is more important than their going out to sell what remains of the ointment as Judas suggests.

 

If his disciples have failed to comprehend his earlier warnings about his impending tragedy, Mary’s actions and Jesus’ words make it clear. They are literally standing in the shadow of the cross. His destiny awaits him.

 

To follow Jesus implies a proper motivation - to want to be what God created us to be - to worship, love and obey Him above all else. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus could not love Him any more. They have witnessed his power of resurrection; Lazarus is the living proof. They know in their heart of hearts that He is Messiah, the Promised One of God, and they would follow him anywhere.

 

The disciples have now been with Him for three years. They have witnessed his many miracles and healings, listened to his teachings concerning God and His kingdom. They themselves have been given authority to heal, preach and teach and have been amazed at the people’s response. Yet they seem oblivious to his warnings of his impending death, and at times their faith is intermittent. What motivates them to continue to follow Jesus if not their love for Him?

 

Judas’ objection to Mary’s use of an expensive ointment that could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor seems admirable, but St. John is quick to point out that Judas is a thief. They all know it. His motivation is greed. Why would Jesus put him in charge of the money box knowing what is in his heart? That Jesus put him in charge of the alms shows that by every means He attempted to save him. Jesus fulfills Judas’ lust for money.

 

He allowed Judas to exercise Apostolic authority like the rest. Jesus will wash Judas’ feet along with the others and will allow him to sit at table in the upper room to partake of the Mystical Supper of His Body and Blood, because He loves him no less than the others. He will die for his sins as well as the sins of the world whether Judas realizes it or not.

 

Sadly greed motivated Judas more than love. Judas’ greed drove him to guilt. It was his guilt that lead to his death by his own hands. I have never thought that Judas was unrepentant, but that he was unable to forgive himself for what he had done in betraying the Lord of Life, and by being unable to forgive himself, he was incapable of knowing and receiving God’s forgiveness.

 

What motivates us to follow Jesus? To continue the journey? Perhaps if we take time to look closely at each of the characters in today’s gospel we can see which one best reflects our relationship to Christ and in doing so discover the motivation behind our continuing to follow him.

 

Are we most like Martha always busying ourselves to the point that we are oblivious to what’s going on around us? Or at least pretending that we do not notice. Perhaps we are more like Lazarus, having been the recipient of a miracle, a second chance at life, an undeserved blessing and yet we choose to remain seated on the sidelines not wishing to get involved with the life or the mission of the church, being more than willing to have someone else do what needs to be done.

 

Then there is Judas who objects and complains who has his own opinion of what should be done and the way it should be done and does not hesitate to say so. Can we see ourselves reflected in him? Do we complain and object to what the Church is doing? What about Mary who simply loves to be in Jesus’ presence and makes herself present to him taking in His every word and being willing to follow him and obey Him as her Lord. Does she not represent what we should all be in terms of our relationship to Christ?

 

Finally there are the disciples who yet follow him, even with their doubts and wavering faith. Imperfect as they are, he chose them, including Judas, and they followed him not knowing where their “yes” to him would lead or how it would all end. Can we see ourselves as true disciples giving our “yes” to Jesus and following wherever He leads? Putting our whole trust in Him?

 

The Church is made up of Mary and Martha, Lazarus and Judas, and there is something of each of them in each of us. Imperfect as we are, like Judas, God gives each of us every opportunity to receive His saving grace and to become what we were created to be: lovers of God who manifest our love for Him through worship and obedience, and who are motivated by His Love “to press on,” as St. Paul says, “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, the completion of our salvation, the resurrection to eternal  life. Amen+

Yes. It's almost time to move your clocks forward 1 hour....this Sunday morning--March 13

Also,  Father Riley's Episcopal class: Sunday, March 13, 9am in Parish Hall.  For all of us whether we have never had the classes or had them many moons ago.

Father Riley's sermon for February 28, 2016

REMINDER:  No class March 6th.  Informational classes resume March 13, 2016 at 9am in the Parish Hall.

 

 

LENT III -C - 16                           LUKE 13. 1-9

 

 

Today’s gospel is concerned with repentance; a timely reading as we approach mid- Lent. It serves as a reminder of our continual need to repent and renew our faith, which the Ash Wednesday liturgy exhorted us to do as we began yet another Lenten journey with Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross.

In last week’s gospel Jesus is warned by some Pharisees that Herod plans to kill him implying that it would be in Jesus’ best interests to avoid Jerusalem. But his destiny lies in the Holy City, and neither the threat of Herod, nor the cross looming in the distance are able to persuade him to change course.

In today’s gospel Jesus is again on the road to Jerusalem traveling through the region of Galilee. Some locals are following him and when they learn of his destination they too, like the Pharisees in last week’s gospel, try to deter him from continuing the journey.

They tell him of a recent event which occurred within the courtyard of the Temple where pilgrims from Galilee were massacred by Pilate’s soldiers; their blood being mingled with blood of the sacrifices they offered to God. How could this happen? What did they do to deserve their fate? It was a shocking report.

Jesus responds by reporting on the 18 who were killed in a construction accident in Siloam, a small area of Jerusalem, close to the center of the city, and a little south of the Temple itself. Did these victims deserve what happened to them any more than the pilgrims who were killed in the Temple courtyard?

Christ draws the conclusion from both incidents that those who perished were not worse offenders in the eyes of God than those who escaped. It was a shocking response to those who heard him. Instead of what Jesus said, they were looking for an explanation, or some way to make sense out of it all.

His point, however, is clear and he repeats it twice: “unless you repent you will perish as they did.” By doing so, Jesus refutes the Jewish doctrine of retribution that states that those receive special punishment must be guilty of a greater sin. What Jesus is saying is, that all are guilty before God; all are in need of repentance.

Why is it when we sometimes hear of certain tragedies we blame the victims for their circumstances? We ask, “I wonder what they did to deserve the misfortune?” What offense did they commit to bring such hardship onto themselves? Implicit in the question is the connection between sin and suffering.

Behind the asking is a need to separate ourselves from “them.” We tell ourselves that what happened to “them” cannot happen to us. By doing so we put distance between ourselves and those who suffered. What we really want to know is why? We want an explanation, a cause and effect equation that we can wrap our minds around in order to make sense out of something that seems so senseless.

That’s really what those who approached Jesus in today’s gospel wanted to know. Why were those killed in the Temple courtyard? What did they do to bring that on themselves? Why were those crushed at Siloam? Were they such terrible sinners that such suffering befell them?

By making his point, that unless those who are asking repent the same will befall them, Jesus is shifting the focus from “them” to “all of us.” He doesn’t give an explanation, rather he rejects the notion that such tragedies come to people in some kind of payment for their sins. His point, again, is that all sinners will perish unless they repent. And there is an urgency in his appeal for all to do so.

The sign of the cross traced on our foreheads with the ashes of last year’s Palm Sunday celebration reminds us of our vulnerability to sin, suffering, and death thus our continual need to repent and renew our faith as none of us knows when our journey will end. As I have said before, being a Christian does not inoculate us from any of the above.

With that in mind, the question is how do we respond to pain, suffering, and death? Does it lead to faith or despair? Does it lead to apathy or compassion? The Church’s calendar was built around the deaths of the early martyrs. The martyrs were and are people who die in such a way as to witness to their faith. We remember them as examples of how to respond to the testing of one’s faith. Their witness is meant to strengthen our faith.

On the other hand, those who despair and disbelieve because of their suffering and death weakens other people’s faith in God. It is not, however, the circumstances of their death that makes their witness for or against God. It is our response to their death. Illnesses, accidents, human tragedies kill people. But they do not necessarily kill life or faith. It is how we respond to those situations that matters.

Today’s gospel concludes with a parable, that at first glance may seem out of place with Christ’ focus on repentance, but is it? Jesus has been seeking the fruit of repentance throughout his ministry. So far, apart from a handful of followers, who are themselves not really sure of who he is and what he is all about, Jesus has found none; no repentance, not even in the cities where most of his miracles/healings had been done.

He is prepared, then, to give Israel, and particularly Jerusalem, the Temple, and the ruling priests one more chance. If they refuse, their doom is sealed. We know how they responded. The parable of the fig tree at the close of today’s gospel betrays the hope of Jesus as he approached the Holy City and reminds us that there is still time to heed his call to repent, still time to receive God’s forgiveness, still time to live with faith and compassion.

The journey is not over until God says it is, until then, we continue our journey towards the new Jerusalem knowing, as today’s collect prays: “that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves, but, with God’s help, we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.” Amen+

Father Riley's sermon for February 21, 2016

LENT II - C - 16                                          LUKE 13. 31-35

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem.."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lenten journey is one in which we travel with Jesus to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Today’s gospel tells us that Jesus has not yet arrived, but is near; near enough that some Pharisees came out to warn him not to go forward because Herod plans to kill him. Whether the Pharisees that warn Jesus mean to be friendly or not is not clear; in any case he is not going to move on before his time to please either them or Herod.

 

Jesus is determined to finish his work and then go voluntarily to His Passion. The threat of death does not deter him from continuing the journey. He knows what lies ahead for him in Jerusalem. He predicts his triumphal entry. He knows he will be rejected by Israel, and he knows the cross awaits him.

 

How important was Jerusalem to Israel? To Jesus? To God? The Temple was in Jerusalem, the symbol of God’s abiding presence. The Holy City was identified with God’s people, Israel. The people believed that the Holy City would always survive, no matter what.

 

Even though living under the oppression of Roman rule, Israel believed that God’s blessing would eventually flow from Jerusalem again. The hope was that God would create a new Jerusalem inaugurated by God’s Messiah. God would send His Messiah to draw all nations to the Holy City and recall the faithful remnant from the furthers corners of the empire to the new Jerusalem where peace and prosperity would reign.

 

Jerusalem, however, was also the focus of God’s judgment. The prophets of old ascribed the sins of the nation and its citizens to the city. Jeremiah saw the city as oppressive. Micah saw its ethical and social sins as arising out of the people’s religious sins. For their warnings for the people to repent and return faithfully to God they suffered rejection, punishment, and even death.

 

Jesus has a destiny to go to Jerusalem and die. The warning of the Pharisees concerning Herod’s threat cannot interrupt his destiny, nor diminish his lament of the Holy City.When Jesus laments over Jerusalem, he evokes in his listeners a host of images and expectations: Jerusalem as the center of political and religious power, the symbol of God’s people, the sign of the people’s rejection of God word, the focus of God’s judgment, the hope for peace and prosperity.

 

To all this Jesus preaches judgment. The prophet is going to Jerusalem to pronounce God’s word and to face a prophet’s death. God’s word will be rejected, and God’s Word Incarnate will be killed.

 

Jerusalem has a long history of rebelling against God. Jesus’ intention, in obedience to his vocation, is to go to Jerusalem, and to take upon himself the full force of the disaster which he is predicting for Israel and the Temple. The one will give himself on behalf of the many.

 

The fate of Jesus and the fate of Jerusalem are related. Jesus will be rejected just as the ancient prophets were stoned and killed. The rejection of Jesus will doom the city. The Temple will be destroyed by the Romans(AD70) and Judaism will be transformed forever.

 

Christ’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was a triumphant one, just as he predicted. He spoke God’s prophetic word and he died a prophet’s death as he knew he would. His resurrection, however, ushered in a new Jerusalem so that we now live in a different world.

 

Those who rejected him then never realized it, nor those who reject him today. For then as now people hold tightly to their “Jerusalem” and defend it fiercely even to the point of denying the truth when it is standing before them.

 

What is our Jerusalem? What do we believe in so strongly that nothing will ever shake our confidence? What it is we hold so tightly to that it controls every aspect of our lives? Is it self? Power? Wealth? Status? Is it religion? Politics? Where does our security lie? Our trust? Our hope? To what or whom do we identify with?

 

Lent gives us the opportunity to ask ourselves these questions and to reflect on our answers as we offer our penance to God and seek to renew our faith. To continue the Lenten journey, to follow Jesus, reminds us that we are a sinful and broken people living in a sinful and broken world.

 

Our world today is one in which we still encounter injustice, rejection, war, and oppression. And yet at the same time we are reminded that we are a redeemed people, living in a redeemed world. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has brought salvation to all of us, to those who realize it as well as to those who do not, and it marks the new Jerusalem in our midst.

 

Let us, therefore, avoid setting our minds on earthly things, as St. Paul exhorts the Christians at Philippi, and see ourselves as citizens of the new Jerusalem Christ came to usher in through his life, death, and resurrection; a new Jerusalem where all nations will be drawn to him and the faithful will return with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of God’s Holy Word, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns one God, for ever and ever. AMEN+

 

 

 

Father Riley's sermon for 14Feb16 and class notice

REMINDER!  Father Riley will be leading Episcopal informational classes designed for long-term and new Episcopalians to learn more about who we are as Episcopalians.
Starting 9am Sunday February 21 in our Parish Hall.

LENT I - C - 16                                                                                  LUKE 4. 1-13

The gospel for the First Sunday of Lent takes us back to what happened to Jesus immediately following his baptism by John in the Jordan. Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness where Jesus prepared for his earthly ministry by prayer and fasting. It was after he ended his 40 day fast that the devil tempted him.

 

I have never thought that Jesus expected to be tempted when he was led by the Holy Spirit into the desert in preparation for his earthly ministry, but he was prepared, after his period of fasting and prayer to counter the enemy’s challenge by relying solely on God’s Holy Word.

 

The Church designates two days out of the year as fast days: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Anyone who has done their best on purpose to abstain from all food for 24 hours as part of their spiritual discipline knows how hungry one gets. And how easy it is to give in to one’s physical cravings? Our good intentions are too easily swept aside in order to meet our own physical needs.

 

Jesus had fasted for 40 days! He must have been starving. Satan’s presence never left him. The devil’s first attempt at getting Jesus to surrender his will to him was for Jesus to turn the stones that must have literally covered the ground, into bread to satisfy his physical need. In other words:  to get Jesus to use his divine powers to feed himself. But he didn’t do it.

 

I have always found this first temptation of Jesus interesting in light of the fact that Christ’s very first miracle at Cana was the turning of water into wine, not for his own benefit, but in order to meet the desires of others.

 

Temptations are often camouflaged as blessings which offer the unsuspecting an exit when there seems to be no way out. The most dangerous are in the guise of goodness when the person is down for the count. Such was that of the temptations of Jesus.

 

Such are the temptations we too encounter as we strive to live the new life to which we have been called in Christ Jesus. Being marked with the sign of the cross at the font of life following our baptism does not make us immune to temptation.

 

On the contrary, since we have promised to follow and obey Jesus as our Lord, we should expect them and prepare ourselves to counter them in the same manner as he did, by prayer, and in some cases fasting, and always by relying on the Word of God. In other words, with God’s help.

 

At the heart of temptation is the tiny word “if.” If you really are the Son of God, Satan said to Jesus. It was Satan’s attempt to place doubt into Christ’s mind as well as challenging him to subordinate his humanity by displaying his divinity. That’s what the tiny word “if” does to our human mind, it brings up the cloud of doubt that causes us to question who God really is and who we are in relation to Him.

 

We often play into Satan’s hands when we doubt and challenge God by our “if there really is a God,” which we are prone to say in times of anguish when we want what we want to be done for us and we want it right now. That “if” is the evil among us. No wonder Jesus taught us to pray “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

 

Jesus endured three temptations in the wilderness. Thankfully he resisted all three on our behalf. The final two seem intertwined. One addresses political power and the human tendency to dominate and control other people; the other religious power, as it puts to the test the extent to which religion seeks control over God. If Jesus was vulnerable to all three how much more are we?

 

There is no escaping the wilderness. It guards every promise and surrounds all successes. The wilderness is teeming with temptation. It is the enemy’s domain. True Satan departed the wilderness after Jesus defeated him. But he would return to tempt Christ again at those low points in his earthly life - the garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross.

 

How many times in the course of a single day are we tempted to doubt and challenge God? To use what earthly powers we possess in status and wealth to dominate and control other people? How often does the enemy tempt us with that tiny word “if”?  “If you are a Christian…” Do we really think that we can withstand the assault of the enemy without God’s help?

 

Our baptismal covenant begins with our renouncing Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God; followed by a renunciation of evil and all sinful desires that draw us from the Love of God. We cannot serve two masters. We have to renounce our dark side in order to follow the Lord and giver of Life.

 

But we are not perfect. God is not the only one who knows our weaknesses. The enemy knows them as well and tempts us at the low points in our lives and in our times of anguish and doubt. Thus our baptismal covenant acknowledges that we are vulnerable to sin and evil and calls us to repentance and a return to the Lord when we have fallen into the enemy’s hand and realize it. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

 

Our fallen nature can only be cleansed by turning to the One “who was in every way tempted as we are, yet did not sin; by whose grace we are able to triumph over every evil, and to live no longer to ourselves, but unto him who died for us and rose again…” (The Proper Preface for Lent)-- Jesus Christ, Our Savior and Redeemer. AMEN+

 

Father Riley's Ash Wednesday Meditation Feb 10th, 2016

ASH WEDENSDAY - C - 16 - A       Lenten Meditation

 

Today’s Lenten scriptures are consistent in their message. They all point to the reason for Lent - a time to renew a right relationship with God through repentance and renewal of our faith which reminds us of our perpetual need of God.

In today’s first lesson the prophet Joel announces God’s desire that we “return” to him with all our heart which implies that we have turned away from God, and our turning back to God cannot be half way but all the way; with our whole heart.

God anxiously awaits our “return” as did the father in Jesus’ parable of the “Prodigal Son. He awaits with open and outstretched arms to those who come to Him with broken and contrite hearts seeking His mercy and forgiveness.

St. Paul, likewise, entreats us in today’s Epistle to be “reconciled” to God implying that a broken relationship exists that is in need of  mending; one that will require forgiveness on God’s part, and confession and amendment of life on our part if we are to be truly reconciled to Him.

To be reconciled to God; to return to God, means we have to be willing to make the move toward God, acknowledging not only our sinfulness but our need of Him.

Such a move will call for our lamenting our sins and admitting our having falling short of His expectations of us as his beloved children. It also means that we must be willing to humble ourselves by not only asking for God’s forgiveness, but the grace to overcome our sins in order to live the new life to which we have been called in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us what true piety, that is, covenant behavior, consists of - a right motive. We are to pray, fast, and give alms simply for God’s eyes only. If they are done with an eye on the audience they are done for the wrong reason. Giving money to those in need, praying to God day by day, and fasting as a spiritual discipline when done simply to and for God alone brings the reward of knowing God.

As today’s readings remind us of the reason for Lent the ashes of Lent remind us of our mortality and our penitence. They remind us of our continual need to renew our faith. They remind us of who we are and to whom we ultimately belong.

When I think of ashes I am reminded of the times when as a young boy I was allowed to clean out the fireplace in my grandmother’s country home with one of those little tin shovels and place them in a bucket to be carried outside. I was instructed to spread them in the garden area for when the spring comes, she would say, they will help to bring new growth.

When I think of ashes I am reminded of the times I have walked through blackened forests following a fire; one either sparked by lightening or a controlled burn that leaves the forest floor covered in ankle deep soot; a depth of ashes that will give way to new growth and a renewal of life once they are washed away.

The ashes on our foreheads this day are a mark of our mortal nature and a reminder of our need of repentance as we begin again this Lenten journey in which we will follow the footsteps of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and the cross.

Lent is a season of the Church’s year, but the Lenten journey of self-examination and repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial, is one we travel throughout our earthly life. Throughout the journey the focus should be both on the cross, the price that was paid for our sins, and the empty tomb - the promise of new life.

Lent is not a time, then, to be preoccupied with the what ifs of the past, that is, with our past sins and offenses, although the Lenten season gives us time to reflect on them, as well as acknowledge them before the God of all mercy, rather Lent calls us to be forward looking.

This season of repentance and re-conversion of the heart should not invite us to discouragement and despair - the preoccupation of a soul obsessed with guilt, but rather for profound optimism in this season that will see, even in nature, a spring-time renewal; a bursting forth of new life.

What we anticipate during this season of penitence and renewal is the greatest victory of life over death. What we foster in our efforts to observe a holy Lent, to which the Church now invites us, is the growth that can occur when the ashes of sin and guilt, that prevent new life, have been washed away by the God of all mercy.

It is His perfect Love, remission and forgiveness that is manifested for the whole world to see on the hardwood of the cross in the outstretched arms of Him who died and rose again, even Jesus Christ, Our Savior. AMEN+