How
many of you have ever been in a play? I’ve not been in one personally, but I do
quite enjoy going to see them. What I love to watch and see, as each character
comes out on the stage, is the intricate makeup and costumes that help to
convey who this character is to the audience. My grandmother used to be
involved in different productions in our community and it always astounded me
at how long it took to put layer, upon layer of makeup on the faces of even the
most ordinary looking character. When the play was over, there backstage in the
dressing room, she would wipe off layers and layers makeup that had transformed
her into the character she played for what seemed like forever. I mean
seriously, it seemed like it took the better part of a half hour for her to
strip her face of the layers of makeup she had so diligently applied and begin
to resemble the woman I knew to be my grandma.
Even
if you’ve never been in a play, or never put on a mask to become a character, I
would guess that every day when you walk out the door to face the world, you
“get into character”. I remember when I graduated college and was preparing to
interview with some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the country, my
mom told me she was taking me shopping because, “I had to look the part”. When
I think back on it, at seven in the morning, I woke up with my wavy hair out of
control and not a stitch of makeup on my face. By ten o’clock, when I left to
meet with principle scientists for a job, I was impeccably dressed in an Ann
Taylor suit, shiny new pumps, tasteful pearls handed down from my
great-grandmother, flawless makeup and hair…I was transformed into the woman
these people would be impressed by. Though I can’t remember it well, I imagine,
knowing myself, that when I got home I kicked off the pumps, peeled the suit
jacket off and let my hair down to become “plain old regular Jenny” I was when
I first awoke that morning. How many of you do the same thing, in one way or
another, every day?
So,
what in the world does this all have to do with Ash Wednesday? What does this
mean for me as a child of God entering in to the sacred time of Lent?
When
we think of Ash Wednesday and Lent, I believe we think far too often, “What should
I give up?”…maybe you eat too much candy, or drink too much soda, or maybe you
want to cut down on being negative…all good and noble things to give up….Or
maybe this sacred season means “What terrible sin have I committed that I need
to atone for?”, “how can I be a better human being”…all admirable things to
think of.
But,
I don’t believe that’s it. You see, because God loved us so much, Jesus has
already atoned for whatever sins you and I have committed. To be honest, Lent
is actually asking far more of us than “what have I done wrong?” or “how can I
be better?” What we are called to do is to think about stripping ourselves of
those layers we’ve put on to please ourselves and the world. What we are called
to do is to reflect on just who God created us to be….and that, my friends, is
not an easy or comfortable task.
You
know, I love the kids of this congregation! I love to see them and talk to them
and to have them ask their crazy questions during children’s sermons. They are
such a gift to us. And you know why I love them so much? Why do we all love our
children so much? I think it’s because they are genuinely being who they are.
When they come up for the children’s sermon every week, they are each one
unique: some are precocious, some are shy, some are funny, and some can’t sit
still…some are very serious and astute…
What
I love so much is that there is rarely a time in my life when, good, bad or
indifferent, there sitting in front of me is a group of human beings who are
being honest and genuine about who they really are. They haven’t accumulated
any layers…they haven’t been touched by the expectations of the world around
them…they are exactly the people God made them to be and they aren’t afraid to
show it!
So
what is Lent all about? Lent is about stripping ourselves of the things that
cloud who God made us to be. Lent is about praying and meditating on what God
has done for us and how we feel called to change. Lent is about being honest
with ourselves. It’s about looking back at what we don’t like and looking
forward to what we can become. Lent is about knowing that God sees through all
our stuff and God hopes we can too. It’s about a God who knows us and a God that
sent Jesus into the world to walk the road of suffering and pain so that we
might have the hope of new life. It’s about stripping that old stuff away and
rising to new life in Jesus.
Wow,
that sounds great, right? Not easy to do, though.
You
know, I shared with you that I have taken on many “characters” in my thirty-three
years. But do you know what I want hope to find during this sacred time? I
don’t care about the makeup (I’m a girly girl and I like it!)…what I want to do
is feel peace with the person God made me to be. So, if I’m being honest,
stripping myself of the worldly means
letting go of past hurts, being genuine about giving love without worry of
rejection, to forgive people that hurt me, letting God take lead in my life and
knowing, no matter how crazy things might seem, that I am the person God made me
to be. No matter where that may lead me, no matter what people might think, no
matter my own apprehensions…I want be the person God made me to be the day I
opened my eyes on this earth. And I desperately need God to do all those things and to be that person.
So,
I challenge you today: When you come to the rail to receive the imposition of
ashes, don’t think of how bad you are, or how unworthy you are, or even how
much chocolate you want to eat that you just promised you were going to give up…replace
it with this thought instead:
Close
your eyes and think of a picture of yourself as a baby, or a toddler or a
child. Remind yourself that God loved you for who you are without any mask or
layers or pretense from the day God made you and you were born. No matter what layers you've accumulated because of the pressures of this world, God sees you for who you really are
and God wants you to be that person. And leave this place, with the cross of
Christ on your head, remembering that no matter whom you are, no matter what
you’ve done, no matter who you’ve been….this Lent, as we take the journey to
the cross, we can let our old selves die and we can rise anew in the light of
Christ Jesus. No costume, or makeup, or fronts or pretenses are required… AMEN
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