Get to the Point

I gather that there is a hard-hitting news program on cable called "The Point." I’ve never seen it. I don’t like combative, hard-hitting news programs. But I am in favor of getting to the point. In virtually every endeavor in life I think it is helpful to ask what the point is of that endeavor. And if we’re clear on what the real point is… we might ask (1) do we really want to be involved in this endeavor and (2) are we going about achieving that point as best we are able?

Sometimes, of course, the point of an activity is to not have a point. Some activities are meant to be pure unfocussed relaxation, and that’s great. But unfocussed relaxation is not, of course, the point of Ash Wednesday. Today we must ask, what is the point of Ash Wednesday? And of Lent that follows? What really is the point?

Have you ever really asked yourself that question? Can you answer it for yourself today?

I think that many of us approach Ash Wednesday and Lent with the general, vague sense that they are somehow "good for us." Like eating brown rice. We have been raised to believe that hardship and self-sacrifice will make us a better person. It’s a message that our culture reinforces day after day. We cannot help but think that the point of Ash Wednesday is to make us better people through hardship. If this is true, surely the greater the hardship we undergo in Lent, the more extreme our penitence on this day, the better people we will become.

But the point of Ash Wednesday is not to make us better people through hardship.

In a variation on this line of thought many people, I think, imagine that the point of Ash Wednesday and Lent is to test us. The church and/or God impose these penitential times upon us to test our dedication, our commitment, our sense of duty. I know that I approach the call to fast on this day as a test. (And all able-bodied Episcopalians are expected to fast on this day.) Fasting feels to me like a test, imposed upon me to see if I will pass, to test whether I really am committed or not.

The point of Ash Wednesday is not to test us.

Another slant on this misguided perception of Lent is to imagine that the point of Lent is to enable us to earn Easter. I know that that feeling lurks to some degree within all of our hearts. How can we escape it with, for example, the Olympics before our eyes every day? Success, happiness, rewards, can only be earned by training. Lent becomes the training period before Easter. And if we train hard enough, we will get to stand on the Christian medal podium come Easter morning. We will win eternal life.

The point of Ash Wednesday and Lent is not to train us for Easter.

Just as I have often said that there are no bad reasons to come to church, I also believe that there are no bad reasons practice penitence and self-discipline before God. In a few moments on behalf of the church, I will invite you to the observance of a holy Lent. I pray that you will take that invitation very seriously and accept it. I pray that you will undertake self-examination and repentance; prayer, fasting and self-denial; and reading and meditating on God’s word.

And I pray that for all of us, a holy Lent may bring us reconciliation with God. That is the point. The point of Ash Wednesday and Lent are to bring us closer to God. Remember Joel’s words, "Return, return, return to the Lord your God." The point of Ash Wednesday is to help us return to God. To help us overcome all of those things that keep us away from God. To bring us closer to God. That is the point.

So. Is that an endeavor you’d like to be a part of? If so, ask yourself what is the best way to achieve that purpose. How can you, as an individual, best "get to the point" of Ash Wednesday and Lent? How can you, in these forty days, move closer to God?

For example, I am often asked whether we should leave the ashes of Ash Wednesday on our foreheads or not. The answer is different for different people. Which will bring you closer to God?

Are you tempted to leave them on your forehead so that others will know that you have fulfilled your spiritual duty? Are you trying to prove to yourself and others that you have done what you were supposed to do on Ash Wednesday? The ashes should not be worn pridefully as a merit badge. If they are, they are coming between you and God, not drawing you closer to God. If, on the other hand, you are tempted to remove them because you feel uncomfortable drawing attention to yourself, identifying yourself as a Christian… If you do not like to go about with your face smudged, then your selfish removal of the ashes’ mark would separate you from God, not draw you closer.

The point of the ashes is to remind us in a physical, tangible sense of God’s gentle love for us, absolutely unworthy sinners as we are. For some, the best way to that point is to leave the ashes on; for others it is to remove them. What is the best way for you to get to the point? To draw closer to God?

And as you consider a Lenten discipline, remember the point. During Lent many people give up, say, chocolate or alcohol because it is difficult. And if it’s difficult, it must be good for us. And the hardship of Lent is supposed to be good for us… But remember, that’s not the point. The point is will that particular form of self-denial bring you closer to God? It may, if you remember the point, or it may not.

Others take on prayer or spiritual reading out of a sense of duty or obligation. And Lent is all about fulfilling duty… But remember, that fulfilling a duty, passing a test, are not the real point… The question is will that particular spiritual discipline bring you closer to God? It may, if you remember the point, or it may not.

And some people undertake a fierce program of self-examination and confession during Lent, training hard for Easter. No pain, no gain is their Lenten motto. But remember, the point of all penitence and confession is not personal achievement, but reconciliation with God.

What keeps you from God? What gets in the way of your relationship with Jesus Christ? The point of Ash Wednesday and Lent is to overcome those barriers so that we may be truly reconciled, truly united with God.

Today is Ash Wednesday. It is time to get to the point.

Sermon Index
Comments are welcome.  Send to krisorr@att.net