We Are Dust
What is Lent? Traditionally, it is the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter… but anyone who counts the days will tell you that there are more than 40 days in this period of time. So, we make adjustments… take out the Sundays…don’t start counting until the first Sunday… stop counting at Maundy Thursday… and so on. O.K. So it is not forty days. Forty days is significant to those who study the Bible… why? Where else do we find forty days? The rain that came down for the Great Flood that wiped out life on the face of the earth. The days that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness. The forty days that Moses was on the mountaintop. And so on. Forty days… in the Bible… signifies a time of withdrawal from the routine of life… to think… to reflect… to pray. It is a time of renewal. In fact, the word Lent comes from an old Germanic word for renewal… specifically, spring renewal.
So, what is Lent in our own Christian tradition? It is a time for examining ourselves and preparing for the death and resurrection of our Lord. Easter is sometimes called the greatest of the Christian feast days, for without the resurrection there would be no Christianity. It is the resurrection, after all, that demonstrated for the world the power of God over evil and death. But the days that precede the resurrection are also very important. Jesus’ death on the cross was the perfect sacrifice. He gave his life so that we might live. At the same time, we remember that he was the only one whose death could have cleansed us of our sin… for Jesus was the perfect lamb… the unblemished sacrifice… blameless and without sin… faultless and in true humility, Jesus went to the cross for us. We were worthy of such a sacrifice? No. So, as we walk from the center of Jesus ministry to his death on the cross, we examine our own lives for signs that we are truly worthy of redemption.
It is said that the cross is a symbol for many things. It is a symbol of the sacrifice that was given. It is a symbol of torture. It is a symbol of the power of God (if the cross is empty)… a symbol of good triumphing over evil… and so on. But we should remember that the cross itself is made of two pieces of wood. There is an upright bar and a crossbar. The upright bar, it is said, points us toward the sky. The upright bar symbolizes our relationship with God, for it reaches from the depths of humanity here on earth and points us to the far reaches of eternity. It pulls us up to heaven itself, but we cannot get there without the sacrifice of Jesus. Lent is the time of year when we each look at our relationship with God to see what it has been… what it should be… and what needs to happen to reconcile the two. You see, I often preach a message of love… and yes, your God loves you… with a depth and a passion that you cannot even begin to imagine. But our God is also a holy God… one who cannot bear the slightest stain of sin… and we, like it or not, are filled with it. We walk in it… sleep in it… eat it… drink it… breathe it… speak it. And yet, despite all of it, our heavenly Father loves us and… regardless of how far we stray… always welcomes us home. Yet, despite the fact that we bask in the warmth of the love of God, from time to time, we need to examine our lives… and come to the foot of God’s throne on our knees.
But, a right relationship with God is not possible if we do not have a right relationship with our fellow human beings. In our scripture passage from Matthew that Andrew read for us, Jesus said that if, when we are offering our sacrifices at the foot of God’s throne, we suddenly remember that our brother or sister has something against us, we are to leave our sacrifices there and go and be reconciled to them before offering our gifts to God. If we do not love our brother, whom we have seen, we cannot possibly love God, whom we have not seen. The crossbar of the cross symbolizes our relationship with the rest of humanity. The relationships that we have here on earth need to be put in order, as well. Can you think of a relationship in your own life that is damaged or broken right now? It could be a family member… a spouse… a friend… your neighbor… someone with whom your political perspective differs… or someone you believe wronged you in some way. When was the last time that you tried to make things right between you? Is it time to try again? Your relationship with God depends upon it. In fact, we cannot do one without the other. Our scripture tells us that we cannot be reconciled to God if barriers still exist between us and our brothers and sisters here on earth… but I also believe that, without God’s help, we cannot eliminate all the barriers that do exist between us and the rest of humanity.
That is why I like the image of the Celtic cross… because the circle around the center joins the upright bar and the crossbar for eternity, symbolizing the interrelationship between our relationship with God and our relationship with our brothers and sisters here on earth. You cannot just focus upon your relationship with God. To see the cross, you also have to see the people around you. So, to be reconciled with God, we begin by being reconciled to each other.
Let me ask the children something: How hard is it to say, “I’m sorry?” Sometimes, it is very hard. For we each have an image of ourselves that is different than the reality. And we like to protect that image… pretending that all is well… when, perhaps, it is not. I remember a song that we used to sing that began, “O Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” And we like to think that we are perfect. It is hard to see the times when we are not… and even harder to seek out those who might have been hurt by our selfish, self-centered ways… and to tell them that we are sorry. And, yet, God tells us that this is one of the requirements of a right relationship with God.
I spent a lot of time thinking about that this week. I finally decided that I could not ask any of you to do anything that I was unwilling… or unable… to do myself. For, you see, it is not just the glaringly obvious actions we take against others that God wants made right. It is also those things that we hide from others… that no one knows… except, perhaps, God and one other person.
When I preached my first sermon here on November 28, 2004, I told all of you that what we were doing was learning how to dance together… and that it would take practice. I told you that I would make mistakes… and that I would step on your boots many, many, many times. We were laughing about it then, but it is really not a laughing matter. You see, God has called me to a position of responsibility here. It is a position that comes with a great deal of authority… of power… and of prestige… but it also comes with a great deal of responsibility. I will make mistakes… I have made mistakes. I sincerely hope that… when I make mistakes, someone will be brave enough to step forward to tell me that I have made a mistake. And, when that happens, I sincerely hope that I will have the courage to go to the people… or person… I have hurt and ask for forgiveness. For you see, only when my relationships with you are right will my relationship with God be right.
Two weeks ago, I preached a sermon where I asked for volunteers from the congregation to help me with a sermon illustration. Nine people met me at the sanctuary door and participated. I spent the first few minutes of my sermon that day listening to excuses of why people could not… or would not volunteer. There were lots of excuses, but one stands out for me. John Darby said that he never heard me ask for volunteers that day... that he was not in the sanctuary when I made that request. In front of the entire congregation, I contradicted him and told him that he was sitting in the sanctuary and must have heard me. Well, another member of the church corrected me that evening. John wasn’t in the sanctuary, he said, because he was looking for matches to light the acolyte’s candle lighter. I was wrong… and as a result of my error, I held John up for ridicule. John has forgiven for that, but that doesn’t mean that everyone has forgotten the example that I made of him. John is one of most faithful volunteers in this congregation. He has always stepped forward to help whenever I have asked for help. He did not deserve what I did on that Sunday… nor did any of you… and I hope both he and you will forgive me.
I do not know what the future holds, but I do know that I will continue to make mistakes. I know that I will hurt many, many people by things that I say or things that I do. If I haven’t hurt you yet… give me time. For I know that it is only a matter of time before I will do something that will hurt or offend you. I hope that, when I do, some brave soul will step forward to tell me what I have done wrong… and who has been hurt by my words… or my actions. I also hope that, when that happens, I will have the courage to go to you… or whomever I hurt… and make things right. For my relationship with God depends upon that.
During this Lenten season, it is not just our relationship with God that needs work… it is also our relationships with all those around you. They are both bound, inextricably together. For you cannot be reconciled to God until you reach out, in love, to those around you. But there is good news in that. For, you see, it is God who helps us in our relationships with others… who gives us the courage to do what we need to do… and the love to give to others. It is also our Christian brothers and sisters who hold us up as we struggle to build our relationship with God. There is a lot of work that needs to be done… and only forty days to do it in. But, if we hold each other up as we walk this road together, building our relationship with God and working on our relationships with other people, we will be able to rejoice in the glory of Easter. Let us begin the journey tonight, by remembering that we are dust and asking for God’s presence with us as we travel toward the cross. Amen.