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Rev. Rob delivered a wonderful homily in our 10 AM Ash Wednesday service this morning, and I want to encourage you to give it a read. It provides a helpful perspective on the meaning of Ash Wednesday, on the meaning of Lent and on the Christian life in general. (I also want to encourage you to join us for our contemporary-language Ash Wednesday Service tonight at 7 PM, where Rev. Rob will deliver an expanded version the homily, and connect it with the classic rock ballad, Dust in the Wind – which he will also sing.)

This morning's homily is below...

Well, welcome once again to the Season of Lent. This is a time of self-examination and repentance, by prayer, fasting and self-denial, and by reading and meditating upon God’s holy Word.

Lent is a 40-day journey to Easter, and we begin that journey today, on Ash Wednesday, by putting ash on our foreheads to remind us about the frailty and uncertainty of human life; and of how badly we need Jesus. That we are dust, and without Jesus, that’s all we’ll ever be. It’s a powerful way to begin the season of Lent. I want to commend you for being here, and I’m honoured that we get to begin this journey together, this morning.

Now, a lot of times, when we think about Lent, we think about giving something up. Maybe you give up chocolate or alcohol, for example. And that’s a good thing to do, but it’s important to do it for the right reasons. The idea is to give something up in order to make more room in your life for God. And if the discipline you’re taking on doesn’t do that, are you sure it’s the right discipline to take on? Is it about God, or is it really about you?

That’s part of what Jesus is getting at in our Gospel reading this morning, and in this whole section of Matthew 6. If you give, give quietly. If you pray, pray in private. Keep your acts of devotion between you and God. And here on Ash Wednesday, I want to draw your attention to v. 17-18: But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret.

Wash your face.

Now, a lot of times after an Ash Wednesday service, people leave the ashes on their forehead as long as possible, as a witness to people they might meet. And I can see the value of that. Jesus does call us to be the Light of the World, a city on the hill, and to let our light shine before others. And he does this in the chapter right before this one!

But in today's reading, in verses 17-18, Jesus says in so many words to wash your face, and we should pay attention to that, too. He’s talking about fasting here, not ashes, but is the principle all that different? 

Do we leave the ashes on our forehead to show people how badly we – and they – need Jesus? Or do we do it as a bit of a humble brag – to show off how repentant and pious we are? To show off that we went to an Ash Wednesday service? If you think that even might be true for you, I want to give you permission to wash the ashes off your face before you leave the church today. Just keep it between you and God.

Like I said earlier, on Ash Wednesday, we impose the ashes to remind ourselves that we are dust. But if you notice, here at St. Peter’s, we don’t conclude the service after the ashes. No, we conclude the service with Communion. We do that to remind ourselves that the dust and ashes don’t get the last word. We are dust, but that isn’t what is truest about us.

No, if we belong to Jesus, the truest thing about us is our identity in Christ. We are part of the blessed company of all faithful people. We’re heirs through hope of God’s everlasting kingdom. We’re entering Lent, but we’re still an Easter people.

So we begin with ash, but we conclude with the body of Christ – because in Christ, that is who we are: we are the body of Christ. And thanks be to God for that. May that knowledge be what defines our Lenten journey this year. Amen.