Ash Wednesday return

Lent is back and here is my Ash Wednesday meditation for 2010:

Ash Wednesday meditation 2/17/10
Frederick Buechner has observed that “in many cultures there is an ancient custom of giving a tenth or a tithe of the year’s income to some holy use. For Christians, to observe the 40 days of Lent is to do the same thing with roughly a tenth of each year’s days.”

“After being baptized by John in the river Jordan, Jesus went off alone into the wilderness, where he spent 40 days asking himself the question what it meant to be Jesus. During Lent, Christians are supposed to ask one way or another what it means to be themselves.”

The ashes are an ancient biblical sign of repentance and symbol of mortality reminding us of the brevity and preciousness of this earthly life, that life is short and each day of it is a precious gift of God that should be treated with reverence and care. It is a gift that we don’t take for granted but a gift that we cherish and we know that one day we must give it up and let it go. That is the way of all the earth.

The Lenten journey is, in part, about letting go. Some say Lent is about giving up something, which may be true for some of us. Someone may give up red meat for 40 days, or chocolate or chewing gum or cigarettes or soda. You may give up watching TV one evening a week and spend that time writing a letter or visiting a lonely or sick person instead. You may choose to fast one day a week and donate the money you save to World Hunger. You may give up looking at other people’s worst points and look for the good in others. You may give up playing on the internet for hours every day and use that time for the love of God and the good of other people.

Some of us would prefer to take something on than to give something up. That is fine if you would like to add another hour of prayer time or Bible study or service or some other spiritual discipline. If you just can’t bring yourself to give something up but would prefer to take on something, be sure to take on something that is holy.

Lent is not just about giving something up but about letting something go. The Lenten journey recalls when Jesus resolutely set his face toward Jerusalem and what he knew awaited him there. We follow the steps of Jesus to the cross, which was the ultimate letting-go. We need to let go as well. What do you need to let go of?

Maybe you need to let go of an old anger or pain that you feel is yours, you are entitled to it, but now is the time to let it go.

Maybe you need to let go of some guilt, or regret, or remorse, let go of the inability to forgive yourself for something you have done or something that might have been. The cock has crowed; let it go.

Maybe you need to let go of some pet sin that has a grip on you but you have been in such denial that you do not even realize the power it has over you. To repent means to let it go.

Maybe you need to finally let go of your need to control others – your parents, your children, your friends, someone who is not behaving the way you want them to and you just cannot resist the desire to fix them. Let it go.

Maybe you need to let go of some relationship that is not healthy, not good for you. It is ok. Let it go.

Some of us will have to let go of a loved one who has passed away since last year’s Lent. A man in our church this week has had to begin the process of letting go and saying goodbyes to his wife of 62 years. This takes time. Even for Jesus, letting go was a process. That is why the 40 days.

And even as we begin the process of letting go, Jesus reminds us that you may need to let go of your very life so you can find it again. “You must find your life by losing it.” If you are still holding back, grasping, clutching, holding on, you may never be able to receive the great life God has for you.

Repentance means turning. It means turning away from anything that has become for us more important than God, our idols. It also means turning from our preoccupations with self and turning toward sincere love of God and neighbor. It can mean letting go of our lesser gods and our wasteful preoccupations and laying hold of something better!

When my father lay dying ten years ago this year, and it was clear that his illness had all but overtaken him, the hospice chaplain offered my mother this counsel: there will come a time that you will need to go to him and say, “It’s all right. We will be alright. It’s ok to let go.” This will help him in his own letting go and will make his journey easier. What do you need to let go of tonight, and in this Lenten season?