Lenten Devotional, Day 1: Ash Wednesday
Dear Church,
And so we begin our Lenten journey.
I didn't want to cherry pick my favorite Verses, and so I am using the Revised Common Lectionary (an assortment of daily Scripture readings on a three year rotation). This is what most Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodist, Nazarene, Christian Reformed, Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, and American Baptists use in Sunday worship and for daily devotions. (Most Evangelical & Pentecostal Churches tend to either preach through whole books of the Bible "line upon line" or in 4–6 week topical series or as the Spirit leads week to week. (The latter sounds right and can be, but funny how Spirit-led preaching over time tends to be the pastor's favorite Passages v. "Whole Counsel of God" Acts 20:27).
The Selections for Ash Wednesday are Joel 2:1–2, 12–17; Isaiah 58:1–12; 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10; Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21. When you read these you'll notice an emphasis on repentance and fasting. As I read through a dozen devotionals came to mind. But I'll pick only one for comment.
ASHES/MORTALITY:
Ok, I'm already breaking my rule. I grew up Roman Catholic. We'd have focused on a Scripture like Genesis 3:19: "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." I know that sounds negative, but they mean well. Indeed, the truth is that sin brought death into the world (Romans 6:23). Through this yearly reminder we are being asked: Have we dealt with our mortality problem or have we kicked the can down the road?
I remember when I first stumbled upon Genesis 4:29: "To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD." Amazing! "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13). I was curious, so then I looked up the meaning of Enosh, after all the context seems to tie his name to calling on God. Sure enough, I found out Enosh means "mortal." Beloved, a revelation of our mortality — without the cure, without Christ — is an inestimable gift. A sober sense of it is often a very helpful precondition to hearing the Gospel. The remedy of John 3:16 is so much more compelling when we realize we need that very cure.
Knowing our sin-sickness "makes" John 3:16 The Good News: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish (problem) but have eternal life (solution)."
Ash Wednesday is an invitation to take seriously our mortal wound and ticking timeclock, if not for Christ's sacrificial cure: "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24).
That is, provided you have swallowed the Gos-pill! Have you?
The Only Best in/is Christ,
tIM