Breath of the Spirit

February 9, 2005: ASH WEDNESDAY

Readings

Joel 2:12-18

2 Corinthians 5:20 – 6:2

Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

For the Lord says, "At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! - 2 Cor 6:2

What inspiring and beautiful words!  Ash Wednesday is our annual entry into
the time of Lent, when we respond to Jesus' most basic teaching: "Repent,
for the reign of God is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).  Every year I ask God to
make clear to me what it is I need to repent of this year.  It is an
understanding of our Catholic spirituality that repentance is not a one-time
thing, but something that we will go through over and over.

The first and most necessary part of repentance is to recognize the need for
change in our lives.  Something is not right.  Only then can we be open to
the help that God will give us to make that change.  Jesus once made the
astonishing statement that the tax collectors and prostitutes would enter
the reign of God sooner than the officially "good" people, the Scribes and
Pharisees.  What is it about tax collectors and prostitutes that make them
able to enter God's reign?  It is their willingness to change.

Note, also, that the repentance of Lent is for each of us as individuals,
but also for us as a community.  The beautiful reading from Joel on this day
describes the repentance of the whole people of Israel.  There is a special
grace in coming together as a group of Christian believers to listen to
Jesus' teachings and to follow them.

In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus warns us against trying to look on
the outside as if we are fasting and praying, without meaning it in our
hearts.  I have always been amused at Jesus' exhortation to "go home and
wash your face" - read to us just five minutes after we have had our
foreheads smudged with ashes!

Lent is our preparation for entering into the mystery of Jesus' death and
resurrection, and the repentance to which we are called begins with our
realization that this life is not forever - that we will die someday.  When
the ashes are put on our foreheads, we are told, "Remember that you are
dust, and to dust you will return."  Two years ago, when my treatment for
breast cancer was not going well, and I had begun to deal with the
possibility that my life might not last too much longer, I was especially
grateful for these words.  Our Catholic theology and spirituality has never
been afraid of death, but instead speaks of it forthrightly.

After death comes resurrection - but there is no resurrection without death.
Death is the final letting go; we can practice for it by letting go of
things in our lives that are preventing our rebirth today.  What new and
wonderful possibilities does God have in store for us, if we are able to let
go of the old, evil, or worn-out ways?

- Linda Rieder