As I read our readings for today, the other thing that struck me was:

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1 Ash Wednesday March 5, 2014 I preach about 1 week end a month. However, as I look at my file of sermons I realized that I preached Ash Wednesday, 2011, 2012, 2013, and now Coincidence? Or is either God or Fr Ed trying to say something to me? Anyway, I read over these sermons. Do you realize that we started our ministry of feeding the school children of St Sacrement on Ash Wednesday 2012? It feels like it must be longer than this. Our ministry with Haiti is a great example of what Lent is meant to do: start practices that change our lives and that turn from a forty day practice into a holy habit. As I read our readings for today, the other thing that struck me was: Matthew clearly lays out the 3 traditional practices of Lent: Almsgiving or giving to the poor, prayer and fasting. Ash Wednesday, 2014 Page 1

2 Now time for a short advertisement: Fr Ed will lead a discussion on the pamphlet; Lent is not Rocket Science, an exploration of God, creation and the cosmos. Time : Tuesday at 6:00. This is also a potluck so bring food you want to share. Pamphlets are available from the office. Secondly Adult Forum this Lent will focus on the practice of prayer: what are our hopes and fears about praying, how do we, not how should we approach strengthening our relationship with God, how do we pray in the midst of living. Now after preaching on these readings three years in a row, I am not going to preach about what are the 3 recommended practices of Lent. That answers the Ash Wednesday, 2014 Page 2

3 question of how to do Lent. I want to look at the question of Why those 3 practices. We could approach Lent from two diametrically opposed attitudes: What is comfortable that I have to give up or what can I gain in these 40 days? One is negative and the other positive. Lent is not a no pain, no gain proposition. It can help us expand who we are. It is not an exercise in deprivation, it is like a vacation. It is meant to get us out of our ruts, rejuvenate us and get us ready to rise again with Christ. Let s take prayer first. Why do we pray? And why is there little room in our lives for prayer? What happens as the result of prayer? Ash Wednesday, 2014 Page 3

4 Do we pray because we are angling to get more of God s love? We already have all of it. To get him to do what we want? Are we afraid to come into his presence because he might ask us to do or be something other than what we want? Do we believe our interests are better protected by God or by us? Think about people you know who walk with God. Are we not attracted to them? To the peace that surrounds them? Do we not hunger for the ability to know we are loved and cared for by our God who takes care of the lilies of the field and cares even more for us? Do we not want to approach our busy lives and problems secure in knowing our priorities are in order? It has taken me years to unlearn the idea that God is outside and above me, the transcendental God, or the perennial judge. Instead you and I are immersed in Ash Wednesday, 2014 Page 4

5 God. He surrounds us and is in us. He breathes every breath we take.. with us. Prayer helps us be aware of this connection. Helps us settle into His love. Almsgiving Why do we give of our time, our talents and our resources, including but not limited to money? We give because we are aware that we are blessed enough to ease the life of someone else and increase what they can be thankful for. I want to emphasize that this is not limited to giving money to Haiti or our Saturday lunches and Warmth in the night. This has to become part of the fabric of our thinking. Every time we make a decision or vote, each time we agree or disagree with a neighbor s comment: we can and should reflect on how will this effect the most vulnerable in our society? Who gains by this? Will someone loose? Am I part of a community or only responsible for what is good for me? This practice of Ash Wednesday, 2014 Page 5

6 almsgiving is an attitude that is almost as constant as God s loving presence. It is a living out of the commandment to Love our neighbor. Finally, why do we fast? What is fasting anyway? In my book, fasting is letting go of a habit because we want to embrace a greater good. I have preached before about my Lenten practice of not playing my favorite computer game: Shanghai. This fasting gives me time to do what is higher on my list of priorities rather than being lulled into unconsciousness by the computer. Now let me say emphatically that time on the computer is not necessarily a bad decision. Time playing a computer game is addictive for me and so I use Lent to give it up and slowly I find that after Lent and for the rest of the year, if I do sit and play the game, I am able to limit my time. So because Lent helps me exercise some discipline, this practice supports me in having time for other things. Ash Wednesday, 2014 Page 6

7 So these are the whys of Lent. Let us embrace this time and these practices as a gift, the opportunity to have quality time with God, our families and our communities. Let us reflect together about how to better live out Jesus commandment to love God and love our neighbor. Ash Wednesday, 2014 Page 7