Ash Wednesday                                       The Rev'd David C. Cobb Matthew 6:1-6,16-21                                  Solemn High Mass

                                                               & Ash Wednesday Rites

                                                                February 6, 2008

Hypocrisy is the great fault this Gospel warns us to avoid-and in this,
perhaps the gospel comes as close as it ever does to the spirit of our
times. Nothing excites public admiration more quickly than one who admits he is not better than he is, and nothing excludes argument or correction more definitively than saying, "That's just how I feel, its just the way I am". The worst behavior is quickly accepted if one quickly enters "rehab", whether one longs for rehabilitation or not. At least he's honest. I'm not sure that's the import of the command, do not be like the hypocrites.

Hypocrites are not just those who pretend with malice aforethought;
hypocrites are those who should know better but refuse to pay attention, who will not put down the distractions and face the truth. I have not owned up to the bad behavior, the sin, the destructive patterns that I want to continue.

Honesty is a virtue, and knowing oneself is the point when Jesus calls us to repentance. But Christian discipline does not leave us in un-disturbed self-awareness. The season we begin and this day in particular asks us to carefully note the distance between where we say we are in faith, hope and love-and where we actually stand in relation to God, our neighbor and our self. But that distance is noted-when I realize that the Gospels I read, the prayers I say and the life I profess in the Creed is not characteristic of my conversation, habits and manners, we are at the beginning, not the completion. It might be admirable, but its not sufficient that I make an honest man of myself by admitting who I am not able to love and how I neglect God. That insight and honesty is the first step of a journey leading closer to the Words we pray and the God we acknowledge.

Perhaps in this liturgy we will know ourselves. The mark of the ashes
insists that we are mortal-that time is limited and we do die. The litany of penitence asks that we admit the ways we squander the precious, though transitory life God has given. God expects us to know this-to recognize and own up to the truth - about how we are and to the truth about the world we build between ourselves.

And once we face it-the words call us onward . Honesty among sinners is not the end of God's desire for us-and it is not enough to know that we are dust. Once the liturgy has done its best to bring us to that place of honesty and self-awareness; it moves on- yes, we are dying sinners, - but God wants something more-"God desires not the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live. In spite of our mortality, and no matter how confused or wicked our life-God wants something better for us-and it only waits our first motion that looks like we might be turning.

Do not fool yourself into thinking you have nothing to confess-and do not let despair tell you all you can do is confess. God wants you to live-to live today in an honest and generous faith-and to live eternally beyond the dissolution of dust and the burden of sins. Forgiveness and renewal now, and an eternity to grow in service and perfect love. That is what God desires for sinners like you and me-that is the point behind repentance.

We have not really confessed our sins until we learn to desire something better-and we can barely face our mortality without grasping this hope. God desires not our death, but that we turn and live. This lent calls us to stop and listen so that we recognize the truth about ourselves-but also to stop and listen so that we can hear this desire deep in God's heart. And then, to practice the actions and learn the language that God puts in our hearts to answer Gods' own desire. The actions we take up in a few moments-will lead us to face the truth in action and in words-and it is not a pretty sight. And yet, this moment leads onwards to a table prepared in the face of all that troubles us, to a season where we can focus on change, on amendment of life, on an honest seeking for God-and we can do it
together.

Hypocrites-we are welcome here where Gospel truth will wash our painted faces; self-loathing-that will not believe what God has promised- here is grace in the midst of truth-- rage and anger- you might have suffered much at someone else's hands, now God will teach you, if not to forgive, at least to want to forgive. Wasteful and dissolute, here is a time of discipline and renewed single heartedness. Fearful and anxious, Christ calls you to find rest and strength.

So tell the truth-not because its all you are- but because its the point
where God begins the new creation that, marked with ashes now, will in forty days find in life and in fifty days more will blaze with the fire of the Spirit.