Ash Wednesday 13 February 2013

(With a handful of ashes and a faithful handful of people, we began our Lenten journey. I think the high point for me was to ask the one acolyte to put ashes on my forehead!)

...and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

• Jesus cautions his disciples to be real and sincere in their practises of repentance. All the things he mentions – alms-giving, fasting, and prayer – were common practises in the Jewish community. They were actions of piety and the signs of a truly pious person.
• The difference is sincerity. Our word, “Sincere”, is an odd one. Some say it actually comes from the art world, in particular, the art of sculpture. In the ancient world, a statue might be commissioned by a person and finished by the artist. But what if a mistake were made? What does the artist do? Start over? Sure, but then the cost has to be swallowed. Give the damaged statue to the buyer? That will never work. Fill in the mistakes and flaws with wax and cover over the problems while you send it to the buyer? That's what happened a lot. Wax or some other substance like wax was used to fill in chips, cuts, or other flaws. So to send a finished statue “without wax” would be the best. In Latin, “without wax” is “sine cera” or “sincere.” At least this is one explanation.
• In any event, sincere would mean honest and true in this case. A person who gives alms, fasts, or prays in order to be seen and rewarded would not be sincere or true. If a person did this acts in such a way that no one else would know, their sincerity would not be so suspect. It still might be the case, but if these acts were done without fanfare or even notice, it says something more positive about the mindset of the do-er.
• There are two persons that are much harder to fool. The first is ourselves, although it is possible to lie to yourself. This usually leads to problems, both within and outside of the self. Secondly, it is impossible to run a snow job on God. “and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Sincere or not, true or not, our Father will know.
• Remember that Jesus does not institute these practises and teach his disciples about them. He recommends them as things he expects his disciples to be doing anyway. What he teaches them about is Why.
• Another point to remember here is that the disciplines of alms-giving, fasting, and prayer will not win us God's favour or God's grace. Our righteousness is not based on what we might or might not do, but upon what God has done for us. These disciplines of Lent do not win us God's grace, but flow from God's grace. Alms-giving, fasting, and prayer are useful tools for deepening our life with God, and they flow from God's favour given to us in Jesus.
• As we cast off for our voyage through Lent, we can engage in the age-old disciplines of giving ourselves away, laying aside what our ego craves, and entering into the silence that surrounds our God. If we do this - “without wax”- we will find our Father “who sees in secret” waiting to welcome us deeper into his own life.