Ash Wednesday Homiletical Reflections

Bearing in mind the truth that sermons are spoken events, a holy interaction between preacher and congregation that is mitigated by Holy Spirit, I post the text that I used for the Ash Wednesday homily at the congregation I serve. 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God, and from our Savior Jesus the Christ. Amen

Remember, you are dust

these are the words we’ll hear in a little bit

when ashes are traced on our forehead

these ashes are a reminder for us who are healthy that life doesn’t last forever

a reminder to the old and the ill that death may be approaching very soon

a reminder for the youngest in our midst

that though there are many years to look forward to,

the vitality of life now is not guaranteed forever

so we trace ashes on our forehead

a reminder of our mortality

a reminder that life is fragile, tenuous

to be blown away, scattered as in the wind, as dry and dusty ashes from a campfire

remember, you are dust

my friend* has pointed out that dust is everywhere

that it does a fine job of settling on stationary things,

collecting in rarely ventured places

making its presence known only when a film develops

but, he points out,

did you ever notice how when the light streams through the window just the right way

endless particles of dust are made visible?

Always we are walking, breathing, living in the dust.

he concludes with a reminder that God does some pretty cool stuff with dust

Remember, you are dust

and when the light shines in the right way,

when the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it

there is beauty even in dust

In the beginning, God fashioned and shaped the dust

breathed into the dust’s lungs

and created life,

life, in which God continues to take delight

God takes delight in life

which, as we are reminded today, will end

but which, as we are reminded in the waters of our baptism

is made new every day by our God, the author and giver of all life

this ash that we receive on our foreheads in just a moment

it’s not simply ash

there is oil mixed in it

(though I must issue the disclaimer that some pastors don’t mix oil in the ash they use)

I do, though … and this oil, mixed in the ash

will be traced onto the same place as the oil used in baptism …

traced in the same place where the cross was traced, perhaps in oil,

when we were sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

The oil helps the ash to stick better to our faces

a more long-lasting reminder that we are dust, and we will return to dust

and at the same time, a reminder that underlying the truth of our mortality

is the bigger truth that in God we are given life,

and only by God’s grace and mercy

we have received the gift of new life

Remember, you are dust

mortal, fragile, temporary

remember, you are dust,

and to dust you shall return

remember, we are dust

filled with breath, spirit, life

by our God, who from lifeless dust

creates beauty, and eternally creates new life

remember, we are dust,

and to Christ we shall return.

Amen.

 
* the person I refer to is the Rev. Christian Nisonger, whose Facebook posting I used as a template for the thought and language of this section of the sermon text. 

$0.02 

Main Stage Speaker, from behind the stage

It was fascinating to watch the aftermath of the first night of the youth gathering. Nadia, my tremendous wife, was the main speaker for that one night, and the work she did to create her presentation (based on the reaction from the gathering) was well worth it. I've been to a few of these gatherings, and the speakers are always good. She seems to have had a more significant impact, though, than many of the other speakers I've heard over other years.

Obviously I may be biased, and I'm certainly not trying to take anything away from the other speakers from other years. I've always appreciated what they've had to say. What I notice, though, is that the youth who are at the gathering felt more of a connection with her more than they did with other people.

And I think I have an idea why. I could be wrong, but I think I have at least part of an idea why.

Nadia's not afraid to tell the truth. She's not afraid to tell the truth about the world, about herself, and about G-d.

In addition, she has a compelling and engaging way of connecting those three things together.

It seems to me that one of the things that young people (who are trying to figure out where they belong in the world) need and desire is adults who will tell them the truth. But it's not enough to tell the truth ~ young people also need adults who will listen to the truth about who they are, to the truth about what it means to be a teenager in their location in the world today.

In the wake of her talk last night, Nadia has been continually approached by youth and adults who have shared with her how much she meant to them. I didn't argue with any of them, but I'd be willing to bet that they're less moved by Nadia and more moved by their encounter with G-d.

Because that's what I experienced from the event last night ~ the speaker on the stage telling young people the truth about themselves, and the truth about G-d, in a way that gave them enough permission to be able experience Holy Spirit as more than the excitement of a huge gathering ~ and which gave them the vulnerability to allow Holy Spirit to have an impact on the deepest parts of their being.

$0.02

remembering Wild Goose

months of flitting back and forth
on twitter, and
facebook encouragement
drew us through the air &
along the roads
to green fields
edged by woods, and
touched by southern sun

tents sprang up,
sanctuaries day & night
as we,
body of Christ
gathered,
sheep in that field,
becoming flock
for the weekend;
all of us yearning
one way or another
to be found again;
yearning to belong

music and words, spoken & sung
- shared -
brought us together
even while illuminating our differences

yet we are bound,
held together,
by the unpredictable and
inevitably surprising
Holy Spirit,
at times, wild as a goose