Homily for Ash Wednesday 2020
Joel 2:12-18; Corinthian 5:20-6:2 · Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
Introduction
"Getting my ashes." That is a phrase I have heard a lot in the past few days here in New Orleans. This craze for ashes has reached a point where some Christian denominations, even in our area, are offering drive-through ashes or ashes to go. Just to be clear, we don't do that in Catholic Churches.
You are probably wondering: “why then did I have to come to Mass here and have to wait through a one-hour Mass when I could have gotten my ashes the way I get my double cheese-burger?” There is a good reason Catholic Churches do not offer ashes in that way, but in the context of a Mass or at least a prayer service. Ashes by themselves mean nothing, if they are not accompanied by a few other things about which I would like to reflect today.
Scripture and Theology
Our first port of call to understand the meaning of the ashes that we receive today is the words used by the priest or deacon as he imposes the ashes on us. The Church offers the priest two formulas to use:
- “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
- “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
You will be happy to learn that both formulas come from the Bible.
The first formula is Jesus’ words in the first chapter of Mark's gospel. When Jesus begins his public ministry, he introduces his mission by saying: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.” And then he concludes with: “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). By this instruction, Jesus is not only announcing the “Breaking News” about the arrival of the Kingdom of God; he is also instructing his listeners on what they must do, if they are to gain admission to that Kingdom of God. The two things required are contained in this first formula: Repent from your sins and believe in the Gospel, which is Good News of God.
The second formula for the ashes comes from Genesis 3:19, where God pronounces sentence on Adam for his sin. He declares: “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken . . . .” And then he concludes: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” In these few words God describes what the fate of man is: a life of toil and suffering ending up in death, that is, until the Saviour comes.
And so, whichever formula the priest uses, the message is the same. The ashes, Ash Wednesday itself and Lent cannot be empty signs of cultural Catholicism, or an empty external mark that we carry around; they must be a reminder to us of the journey of repentance from sin that we must travel.
- If the priest wants to scare you into conversion by a stark reminder of eternal death, which comes from sin, he will remind you that "you are dust and unto dust you shall return," unless you turn to the Lord.
- But if he wants to encourage your conversion by reminding you of ugliness of sin as compared to the beauty of the Good News, he will choose the much gentler encouragement to repent and believe in the gospel, which essentially is turning away from sin and being faithful to the gospel.
And so, when we present ourselves in a few minutes to receive the ashes, we are committing ourselves to doing these things, turning away from a life of sin and turning towards the message of the gospel, because otherwise we shall miss out on eternal life and instead embrace the dust of eternal death. And this is something we must do throughout the year, except that during this time of Lent, we are asked to make an extra effort, go the extra mile.
Christian Life
What will this extra focus, extra effort, extra mile be for us? Today’s gospel suggests the three traditional penitential acts of almsgiving, prayer and fasting.
By almsgiving, we share our material possessions with those who are less fortunate than we are. We can do this privately with those who we encounter each day or we can support the Lenten campaigns promoted by the Church, such as supporting Catholic Charities which helps the poor within the USA, and Catholic Relief Services which does so abroad, as well as other groups that truly help the poor.
In this year's Letter for Lent, Pope Francis has suggested that our almsgiving might take the form of:
. . . feeling compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in the many innocent victims of wars, in attacks on life, from that of the unborn to that of the elderly, and various forms of violence. . . . in environmental disasters, the unequal distribution of the earth’s goods, human trafficking in all its forms, and the unbridled thirst for profit, which is a form of idolatry.
The Pope has also asked that besides simply helping the needy with what they need now, we must consider the structural aspects and causes behind their condition. And when we carry out almsgiving in all its forms, we remember that we and what we have is dust, and what really counts in the long run is life with God.
A second Lenten practice is prayer, which is something we do every day, but during Lent we kick it up a notch. Do we say prayers as a family, before and after meals, perhaps the rosary before we watch our favourite television show, as well as our morning and night prayers? Can we consider coming to daily Mass, if that is a possibility? And of course let us not forget the Sacrament of Penance, which after baptism, is the sacrament that reconciles us to God.
Pope Francis has again reminded us that prayer is a privileged means of conversion, that is of repenting and believing in the gospel, because it allows us to have a face-to-face conversation with God. Whatever form it takes, prayer “penetrates deep within us and chips away at our hardness of heart, in order to convert us ever more fully to God and to his will.”
The third Lenten practice is fasting and abstinence. We fast by giving up all food and drink, particularly today on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, so that in that experience of hunger, we might know what the deprivation of the poor man Lazarus means and what total dependence on God is. We also abstain from certain foods or pleasures, so as to set our sights on the greater pleasures of God. But fasting and abstinence is not a weight-loss program, although that could be an unintended lagniappe. Like the ashes, it is a sign of what is happening inside our spiritual lives.
Conclusion
There are many Catholics throughout the world today who will not receive ashes, reminding us that ashes are not an end in themselves, but a means to repentance and conversion. As we receive our ashes, as we carry out our Lenten observance of almsgiving let us remember those especially who will not receive ashes because they lack priests and churches. Let us also remember those Catholics in South Korea, Hong Kong and Italy, where the Church has cancelled Ash Wednesday services due to the spread of the corona virus. And as we receive our ashes, let us remember them especially in our prayer today and throughout Lent.
And then in forty days, on Easter Sunday, we shall return to this very place, to celebrate the Lord's resurrection in joy. Having been reminded that we are only dust and unto dust we shall return, during the season of Lent we shall have truly repented and believed in God's Word in the gospel. And on Easter we shall anticipate the fruits of our Lenten observance, by celebrating the joy of the Lord’s resurrection, which has paved the way for our own.
I will be looking out to see if you will be here. If you don't show up, I will hunt down in your homes. It is a date.
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