Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - Ash Wednesday
[Joel 2:12-18 and 2 Cor 5:20-6:2 and Matt 6:1-6, 16-18]Even now, says the Lord, rreturn to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord your God. [Joel]
Which is harder: to change your diet for forty days, or to change your heart? Which would be likely to be lasting? In Jesus' time there were very few times when Jews might be required to fast, even though the Pharisees made a public practice of it. The gospel scripture for today shows that Jesus was expecting a change of heart rather than a change of diet. The prophet Joel today challenges us to that change of heart! It's Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent! The popular Catholic question is usually, "What are you going to do for Lent?" The response is usually in terms of "I'm going to give up......!" How many of us would publically say: "I'm going to change my heart?" We are generally more willing to "give up" a good (maybe one that we could do without anyhow) than to give up an "evil" that could be lurking inside - a prejudice, or a grudge!
A focus on the "heart" (which really means the whole gamut of attitudes and practices) instead of the waistline seems to me to be the most promising approach to Lent. The hope should be to do something that will last beyond the forty days! It may be like a death and resurrection, which is really what Lent is meant to prepare us for! If we engage in the traditional devotion of the Stations of the Cross, perhaps we might remember the heart of Jesus that was determined to capture ours. Will the ashes on the forehead be merely superficial for us, or will they really be on our heart? AMEN
config
view
logs
3840.0 KB
81 ms
4
