|
DATE |
CHURCH |
SUBJECT |
PREACHER |
BIBLE
REF. |
|
25.02.09 |
All Saints Church |
Ash Wednesday |
David Tate |
|
|
Today we have arrived at the season of Lent, that period of the
church year in which people figure we are supposed to feel
miserable. After all, yesterday was Mardi Gras, (Fat Tuesday), a
time of joy and revelry when we could have a feast, in stark
contrast to the observance that begins today. The fun stops. At
least that is the popular understanding.
Strange; the word "Lent" originally meant "springtime," not
misery. Because the church season always fell at this time of
year, the name was given to this period.
The observance of Lent has developed gradually in the church.
Historians tell us that one of the earliest pre-Easter
traditions was fasting for the 40 hours between Good Friday and
Easter morning. People understood that Christ was in the tomb
for 40 hours, so a period of fasting and remembering the
sacrifice He made for us became part of the observance.
Over time, the fasting was extended from 40 hours to all of Holy
Week (only one small evening meal per day would be eaten).
Later, the practice of observing a period well beyond Holy Week
developed, and by about the year 400, the church decided on a
season of Lent lasting 40 days (excluding Sundays) in order to
remind people of the duration of Jesus' temptation in the
wilderness.
Lent began as a time of purification and preparation. In the
early church, baptism was only performed on Easter Sunday, with
an entire year's worth of converts to the faith being baptised
and brought into the church on that day. Lent was the time
before Easter in which these converts would fast and pray,
preparing themselves to be members of Christ's church.
As years went by, the church began to baptise and confirm people
on days other than Easter Sunday. Lent was no longer a time of
preparation for these events, but it remained as a special time
of prayer and fasting.
After the Reformation, the discipline of fasting became
unpopular, and it has never regained much favour. Thus, as a way
of preserving Lent as a time of self-sacrifice, the church
leaders encouraged people to give up something they enjoyed
during Lent.
I wish that we could give up meetings for Lent, not that I enjoy
them at the best of times, but they are a necessity.
Traditionally people give things up for Lent, maybe alcohol or
chocolate or cream, something that they like.
I have some other suggestions
Give up grumbling. Instead, give thanks. Constructive criticism
is OK, but "moaning, groaning, and complaining" are not
Christian disciplines.
Give up 10 to 15 minutes in bed. Instead, use that time in
prayer, or Bible study. No, make it worthwhile, an hour!
Give up looking at other people's worst points. Instead
concentrate on their best points, be generous. We all have
faults. It is a lot easier to have people overlook our
shortcomings when we overlook theirs first.
Give up disliking anyone or anything. Instead, learn to love.
Give up worrying. Instead, trust God with your worries and
anxieties.
Give up TV one evening a week. Instead, visit someone. There
are many lonely or sick people around, isolated by illness or
age. Give someone your time.
Best of all give up yourself to God.
Lent is still the church season in which we prepare for Easter
Sunday. It is a time to remember the temptation, the suffering,
and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is a special time of
prayer and reflection, of confession and self-sacrifice. Most of
all, it is a time to ready ourselves for the joy of Easter
morning, it is a time to ready ourselves to meet our risen Lord
once again.
That’s all well and good, but the words of the first verse of
the Gospel reading bother me a bit "Beware of practising your
piety before others in order to be seen by them."
Jesus warned about public piety, but I wonder sometimes if we
should be more open and public with our piety and, think about
what we can take on rather than what we can give up.
Take on the challenge of letting others know that our
relationship with the Lord and the church is important to us.
Let the Woottons and beyond know that we take the name
“disciple” seriously. Let people know we think it is important
to them as well, and be intentional about sharing our faith.
Yes, Jesus wanted to guard against hypocrisy. But, the hypocrisy
of 2009 in church is not people parading their piety to the
public - it is exactly the opposite. The piety is there, but it
is kept carefully private. Perhaps too private for Christianity
always seems to be just one generation away from extinction. The
faith must be shared.
Be public in your piety - not for recognition, but simply to
declare your faith and let the world know whose side you are on.
It is also the sentiments of the last few verses that strike me
for today’s world.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
The story is told of a man who, while walking on a beach, found
a used magic lamp. He rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared,
inviting him to make a wish. The man thought for a moment and
then asked for a copy of the financial page from the Eastern
Daily Press for one year into the future. The genie disappeared
and in his place was a copy of the page, dated exactly one year
into the future. Happily, the man sat down to see how he could
invest with certainty, knowing which stocks and shares would
rise. But then he happened to glance at what was on the previous
page. It was the obituary column. And guess whose name was at
the top of the list. It was his own! Suddenly all those stock
market gains seemed less important. Why? Because for the first
time, this man had to look at life from an eternal perspective.
Over the past 4 or 5 years it seems that the love of affluence
is almost in the water we drink, in the air we breathe, absorbed
into the skin. When we ask, “How much is so-and-so worth?”
everyone assumes that we are talking about financial worth. When
we talk about “the bottom line,” everyone assumes that we’re
talking £s. But for a Christian, the bottom line is about
eternal perspective.
Jesus said quite a lot about money and possessions. I read that
He spoke more about this topic than about heaven and hell
combined.
His statements about money and possessions are so opposite to
the world’s view. Consider three principles that Jesus
proclaimed.
First, God owns everything and we are his money-managers.
That’s not the world’s view at all. The typical worldly attitude
is this, “It’s my money. I earned it. And I have the right to
spend it however I choose.”
But listen to God’s word from Psalm 24. “The earth is the Lord’s
and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” And
(Deut. 8:17-18) “ But, remember the Lord your God, for it is he
who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
This means that we own nothing. All we have is a temporary use
on some material assets. The permanent owner is God Almighty.
One day we will give an account to him of how we used every
asset he allowed us to control.”
We should never claim ownership of anything. It belongs to God,
who says to us, “I’m going to loan you enough brains, enough
health, enough energy, and enough material wealth to not only
meet your needs but also satisfy some of your wants. It is my
desire that you prosper. But you must never forget that you’re
using my assets. Your first responsibility is to promote my
Kingdom.”
Here is the second treasure principle: We can serve God or
greed, but not both. But that’s not the world’s attitude.
Many think that they can have both God and greed. That is, that
they can love money and God simultaneously.
Jesus gives a resounding “No” to this double-mindedness saying,
“No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and
Money.” (Matthew 6:24)
If your ultimate trust is not in God, you will never have enough
money to feel secure, not even if you’re as rich as Bill Gates
or Richard Branson.
Here is the third treasure principle: When our hearts belong
to Christ, the more we give, the happier we are. But that’s
not the way the world thinks. The world’s attitude is this;
every £1 I give away makes me poorer. I hate to part with my
money. Here is an excellent quote from the president of a
charitable organisation, “The greater proportion of a person’s
income that he gives, the happier he is. Happiness is not what
you keep. That’s a deception. It’s what you give.”
St. Paul helped us understand why a giver feels joy. He wrote,
“God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7) When you bring God
pleasure, he sends some of it back to the giver.
This principle is true as long as one’s attitude is one of
gratitude. But if one’s attitude is wrong, it does not apply. If
one gives only out of grudging duty, then the happiness of
giving vanishes.
Have you ever considered what will be your last opportunity to
declare your gratitude to God? Actually, that moment will come
after you die. It will be the day when your last will and
testament is read. A Christian’s will ought to say something
like this -“My greatest discovery in life has been Jesus Christ
as Saviour and Lord. He has been the Lord of my life and is my
hope for eternity.”
What an impact of this will be on your grieving family and
friends. Then leave some part of your estate to the ongoing work
of the Lord’s church. Make sure that your last will and
testament gives glory to God.
If you need any help organising this, do have a word with me.
Why do I bring the subject of money into Lent? Because I
believe that the world needs a good dose of old fashioned
Repentance
The definition of repentance that I take is “to recognise the
error of our ways and change.” I doubt that many would disagree
with the thought that that is what is needed today. We need to
change, to re-assess our priorities.
There is no better time to give consideration to that than the
season of Lent, a time of introspection and spiritual
discipline, to set this time apart to recommit ourselves to the
faith and to the One who has given his all for us!
AMEN |
