Sermon for Children and Adults on Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday Matins
Jonah 3.1-10
February 6, 2008

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lent is the time of the year when we remember Jesus' sufferings for us, and we focus again on the importance of being repentant, that is, of being sorry for our sins and asking God to forgive us and help us be better.

The day is called Ash Wednesday for a reason; putting ashes on our heads is an old custom. What's it mean?

Ashes are what's left over after something has been burned, destroyed. It reminds us that our own bodies will one day return to the earth, the same earth out of which God made the first man, Adam. Ashes remind us that we sinners must die. As God said to Adam, "Dust you are, and to dust you shall return." At a funeral, the pastor says when the body is put into the ground, "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust."

But the ashes aren't just smudged on our foreheads in any old way. They go in the shape of the cross. So even the ashes remind us that the God-Man who died on the cross, Jesus, conquered death, and will raise up our bodies from the grave.

All this was part of the message Jonah was sent to preach to a very bad city called Ninevah. You might know that before Jonah gets to Ninevah, he had quite an adventure.

You see, God had commanded Jonah to go to Ninevah and call them to repent--confess their sins and ask God for forgiveness, changing their sinful way of living. Now Ninevah was a horrible city, filled with drunkenness, gambling, prostitution, and false worship. No Christian would want to go to a place like that.

Jonah's not so excited either. What's going to happen if he goes and tells them to repent? The people probably won't like it too much. It would be like going to a football game and cheering for the visiting team instead of the hometown favorites. Only a lot worse. If Jonah goes to Ninevah and tells them, "You aren't following God's Word, and He is going to punish you," the people might just laugh at him, spit on him - or even kill him!

So Jonah says, "No thanks! I'm not going there. I think I'll take a cruise instead." So he hops on a ship sailing in the other direction. He thinks God won't find him. Hah! You cannot hide from God. God causes a mighty wind to blow, and when the ship is about to sink, Jonah realizes that this whole thing is God's judgment on him. He tells the sailors, "Throw me overboard!"

They do, but then a giant sea creature swallows Jonah, but instead of chewing Jonah up, swallows him whole. Jonah lives in the belly of that giant sea creature for three days, and then, the creature vomits him out onto the land.

"Now, Jonah," says the Lord, "shall we try this again?" So Jonah goes to Ninevah and amazingly, the people listen! And that's where the Bible reading that we heard today picks up. The people repent, and even the king sits in ashes to show how sorry he is for his sins. And then the best part: God forgives them.

You see, that's what God does. He loves. He forgives.

This whole story--which is a true story--is telling us what's going to happen at the end of Lent. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, so Jesus will be in the belly of the earth (that is, in the tomb) for three days. And because Jesus rose again just like Jonah was spit up onto dry ground, we too can be repentant, be baptized, and have our sins forgiven. And what happens then? Even though we die and turn to dust and ashes, we won't stay that way forever. God will raise the faithful up on the last day, and we will live forever in His kingdom.

That's why we celebrate Lent - to help us prepare for the true Easter to come - the day when Jesus will return and raise us up from the grave.

So today you're going to go around and see people with ashen crosses on their foreheads. You might be tempted to think it's a game. Or worry about how you look. Or worry about it itching, or getting something dirty. This is no game. Remember, O man, remember, boy, remember, girl, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Look at the ashes all day today, and remember that you are going to die. But look at the ashes in the shape of a cross, and rejoice and be glad that Jesus died for you, and just as He is risen from the dead, so will you too. Rejoice and be glad, even this Ash Wednesday! +INJ+

Ash Wednesday

Blow the trumpet in Zion,

Consecrate a fast,

Call a sacred assembly;

Gather the people,

Sanctify the congregation.…

Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,

Weep between the porch and the altar;

Let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD,

And do not give Your heritage to reproach."

-Joel 2.15, 16a, 17

Tomorrow, February 6, 2008, is an important day in the life of the Church, and in your life. Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, opens the time of fasting and penitential discipline. All communicants are urged to undertake a fast, abstaining from meat and alcohol, and eating no food in the hours before Divine Service at Immanuel on Wednesday evening (7:30 p.m.). Preceding this solemn service will be the imposition of ashes at the rear of the nave - please arrive a few minutes before the service if you wish to receive this ancient token of mourning and repentance. The day of fasting culminates with our Lord's holy Supper – the true Food which we are training ourselves to desire.

I recently posted an excerpt from St. John Chrysostom on what I found to be an excellent summary of the real purpose of fasting; you can view it by clicking here.

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

Almighty and everlasting God, who hates nothing that You have made and who forgives the sins of all those who are penitent, create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of You, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Daily Readings for February 4 - 9

Monday:
Luke 18:31-43
Luke 6:1-35

Tuesday:
Genesis 40:1-23
Luke 6:33-49

Wednesday:
Exodus 33:1-23
Luke 7:1-10

Thursday:
Genesis 41:1-36
Luke 7:18—8:3

Friday:
Genesis 41:37-57
Luke 8:16-56

Saturday:
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Matthew 4:1-11

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Quinquagesima (February 3)

Lord’s Prayer: The Fourth Petition
Give us this day our daily bread.

What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Quinquagesima (February 3)

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38)

Confessions of a Chronic Switcher

The following will be published in the February 2008 issue of Tidings, the Newsletter of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School.

In my personal life, I am perpetually changing things around, never satisfied. I will use one program or device for awhile to keep track of things I need to do, and then switch when something else comes along - always looking for the magical device or system that will help me stay on top of everything I need and want to do. Same for calendars. And email. And exercising. And ...

I will probably always be this way, although I am trying to change. Really!

But the worst for me has been prayer and Scriptural meditation. When I was in college, I used a "One-Year Bible" I had been given - a book with the whole text of the Scriptures organized so that you read a passage from the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms, and by the end of the year one would have read the whole Bible. As I began to become aware of liturgical forms of daily prayer, I switched to the Book of Common Prayer and followed its lectionary (order for daily readings). Then, I discovered Lutheran Worship, our old blue hymnal, and from there, moved back in time to The Lutheran Hymnal. Then I discovered a tome called The Pastor at Prayer, with its own set of forms, including a chart for reading through the Lutheran Confessions in about a year. Then I got a four-volume set called For All the Saints, a kind of Lutheran breviary, with Matins, Vespers, and devotional readings from outside the Bible. These ran the gamut from early church fathers to twentieth-century figures including such questionable writers as Albert Schweitzer. "Too liberal!" I decided; time to switch again. Along came the Hymnal Supplement '98, with its brief orders of daily prayer, and a new pattern for reading the Bible every day. There were nifty cards that CPH printed up, and I latched onto those.

Being an early-music buff, I was thrilled when The Brotherhood Prayer Book was published by a new band of like-minded souls called the Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood. Fantastic! It has Gregorian chant psalms, printed up in an old form of musical notation that even most musicians cannot read. This fit my quirky desire to be both faithful and anachronistic nicely. The problem comes once one realizes that A) no one else who lives near you [or with you!] can follow along and join you; and B) one needs to live a monastic life to actually do all of the things in the book. Morning Prayer alone can take over an hour! (Of course, I still use it when I can, and recently bought the second edition...)

Now we have Lutheran Service Book, and I have been trying in all things to conform myself to the pattern of this book. I have come to believe that it is exceedingly important that everyone in the Missouri Synod "be on the same page," even if one thinks he knows better or can improve upon it. Unity and harmony are deeply important, and if we don't act like it in our own lives and churches, how can we expect it among all the churches?

But the real lesson in all of this is that daily prayer and Scripture reading is important. While some books and systems are better than others, more thorough, more accessible, more traditional, more in step with the weekly liturgy and church year, the truly important thing is what the old Nike commercials said: "Just do it!" Quit worrying so much about the system, and just read! So every day, I'm using LSB morning and evening.

With Lent upon us, I encourage you to begin, or renew, your dedication to prayer and Scripture reading. Just do it! Buy a copy of Lutheran Service Book. Along with a Bible, it's the only thing you need. There are tables for daily reading, charts for using the Psalms, and orders for family devotions, on pages 294-304. Starting on page 305, there are model prayers for all kinds of different situations. An important discipline of Lent is renewing a life of prayer. Please make this your foremost commitment this Lent. God speaks to you, and gives you His gifts, through His Word, and He delights in hearing your prayers. If some days you are lazy/sick/busy/tired/pick your excuse - then simply start again as soon as possible. Just do it! God bless you in your Lenten disciplines, and may He brings us all to that final Easter in the life of the world to come.

Looking Forward: Sundays and Holy Days in February

These liturgical summaries will be published in Tidings, the Newsletter of Immanuel Lutheran Church and School.

February 3: Quinquagesima - This day is the last of the three Sundays before Lent, the names of which all end in "-gesima" ("-gesimus" is the Latin ending for some ordinal numbers; quinquagesimus means "fiftieth"). This day is exactly fifty days before Easter, and the Gospel for today (Luke 18:31-43) shows what must happen for Easter to come: "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.... They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again." Then Jesus heals a blind man. Thus this Sunday is inviting us to follow Jesus to His cross, bearing our own crosses and praying for healing from our blindness, caused by sin. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem," Jesus said, and hearing these words we are ready to begin our Lenten journey.

February 6 (7:30 pm): Ash Wednesday - This day marks the first day of Lent, a period of repentance and spiritual renewal. The Old Testament reading, Joel 2:12-19 summons us to fast, while reminding us that the fast needs to be in our hearts, too, and not just an outward show. The Gospel reading, Matthew 6:16-21, further admonishes us not to be hypocrites when we fast. A significant characteristic of this day is the imposition of ashes before the service, with the sobering words, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Recognizing our mortality--the just consequence of sin--we turn to the Lord, who feeds us in the Supper with the medicine of immortality, the seed of the resurrection.

February 10: Invocabit - Many of the Sundays in Lent obtain their names from the first words of the Introit (opening Psalm) in Latin. For the First Sunday in Lent, the word "Invocabit" comes from Psalm 91: "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him." Lent renews the invitation to call upon the Lord, and today's Gospel (Matthew 4) sets before us Jesus, who endured the temptations of the devil on our behalf. He called upon His Father in time of trouble, and the Father sustained Him. In every way we are tempted, so was Jesus - only He did not sin. In our temptations, we likewise take up the Word with confidence that when we call upon God, He will answer us.

February 17: Reminiscere - "Remember Your mercy, O Lord," begins the liturgy for the Second Sunday in Lent. The woman whose daughter was possessed by demons would not let Jesus go until He showed her mercy (Mt. 15:21-28). The same Jesus who answered her prayer will not forget us, but "defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul" (Collect for Reminiscere).

February 24: Oculi - "Oculi" means "eyes," and on Lent III we sing, "My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net" (Introit). Today's Gospel (Luke 11:14-28) tells us about Jesus who overcomes the strong man--the devil--by breaking into his fortress and taking the goods he is guarding. We are the "spoils" the devil obtained in the Fall into sin, but Christ our Lord comes to defeat the devil and redeem us, "that we may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom." This marks the third Sunday in a row where Christ is shown to triumph over the powers of Satan. Throughout Lent, then, we are fixing our eyes on the Lord, who will not let the powers of darkness prevail over us.

Daily Readings for January 28 - February 2

Monday:
Matthew 20:1-16
Mark 10:1-31

Tuesday:
Genesis 35:1-15
Mark 10:32-52

Wednesday:
Genesis 35:16-20, 22b-29
Mark 11:1-33

Thursday:
Genesis 37:1-36
Mark 12:13-44

Friday:
Genesis 39:1-23
Luke 4:14-44

Saturday:
1 Corinthians 13:1–13
Luke 18:31–43

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Sexagesima (January 27)

Lord’s Prayer: The Third Petition
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.

How is God’s will done? God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Sexagesima (January 27)

“The [seeds] that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15)

March for Life

Reminder - the sadly annual March for Life will be held tomorrow on the National Mall. (Pray for the day when it will no longer be necessary to ask the government to protect the right of every human being to live.)

Immanuel, in conjunction with Lutherans for Life, will be having Divine Service at 9 a.m. Dr. James Lamb, Executive Director of National Lutherans for Life, will be preaching; Pastor Esget of Immanuel is the presiding minister. All are invited to attend, even if not able to participate in the march. For directions to Immanuel, please visit our website.

Daily Readings for January 21 - 26

Monday:
Exodus 5:1–23
Mark 5:21–43

Tuesday:
Exodus 6:1–13
Mark 6:1–29

Wednesday:
Genesis 32:1–21
John 1:43–51

Thursday:
Genesis 32:22–32
1 Timothy 6:11–16

Friday:
Genesis 33:1–11
Acts 9:1–22

Saturday:
1 Corinthians 9:24—10:5
Matthew 20:1–16

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Septuagesima (January 20)

Lord’s Prayer: The Third Petition
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What does this mean? The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Septuagesima (January 20)

“The last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” (Matthew 20:16)

Daily Readings for January 14 - 19

Monday:
Genesis 30:25-43
John 1:29-34

Tuesday:
Genesis 31:1-21
John 1:35-42

Wednesday:
Genesis 31:22-42
John 1:43-51

Thursday:
Genesis 31:43-55
Luke 4:1-13

Friday:
Mark 8:27-35
Acts 4:8-13

Saturday:
1 Corinthians 9:24—10:5
Matthew 20:1–16

Small Catechism for Memorizing - The Baptism of Our Lord (January 13)

Lord’s Prayer: The Second Petition
Thy kingdom come.

What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.

How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - The Baptism of Our Lord (January 13)

“He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (1 Corinthians 1:31)

Daily Readings for January 7 - 12

Monday:
Matthew 2:13-15
Luke 3:10-14

Tuesday:
Matthew 2:16-23
Luke 3:15-20

Wednesday:
Luke 2:41-52
Mark 1:1-8

Thursday:
Matthew 3:1-12
Mark 1:9-11

Friday:
Matthew 3:13-17
Luke 3:21-38

Saturday:
1 Corinthians 1:26–31 31
Matthew 3:13–17

Small Catechism for Memorizing - Epiphany (January 6)

Lord’s Prayer: The Second Petition
Thy kingdom come.

What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.

How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

Bible Verse for Memorizing - Epiphany (January 6)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)