Joel 2:12-18; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2; Mt.
6:1-6, 16-18
Today we are entering a new Season, one of penance and sacrifices. On this special occasion, we are called to be reconciled to God. Through the sacramental of ashes that is symbolic of penance, we are reminded that we are dust and ashes. [Gen. 18:27]
The liturgical use of ashes originated in the Old Testament times. Ashes symbolized mourning, mortality, and penance. For instance, in the Book of Esther, Mordecai put on sackcloth and ashes when he heard of the decree of King Ahasuerus (or Xerxes, 485-464 B.C.) of Persia to kill all of the Jewish people in the Persian Empire (Esther 4:1). Job (whose story was written between the 7th and 5th centuries B.C.) repented in sackcloth and ashes (Job 42:6). Prophesying the Babylonian captivity of Jerusalem, Daniel (c. 550 B.C.) wrote, "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes" (Daniel 9:3). In the 5th century B.C., after Jonah's preaching of conversion and repentance, the town of Nineveh proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, and the king covered himself with sackcloth and sat in the ashes (Jonah 3:5-6). These Old Testament examples evidence both a recognized practice of using ashes and a common understanding of their symbolism.
Jesus
Himself made reference to ashes: Referring to towns that
refused to repent of sin although they had witnessed the miracles and heard the
gospel, our Lord said, "If the miracles worked in you had taken place in
Tyre and Sidon, they would have reformed in sackcloth and ashes long ago"
(Matthew 11:21).
The early Church
continued the usage of ashes for the same symbolic reasons. Since the middle
Ages, the Church has used ashes to mark the beginning of the penitential season
of Lent.
The first
reading says that at the time of Joel God called his
people "Return to me with all of your heart; with fasting, and
weeping and mourning", During lent the church is doing the same
thing- calling us to return to God.
If one has to make
a decision to return he should be convinced that he is moving in the wrong
direction.
There is a
beautiful story in the book of Samuel (2 Sam 12:1-12). One day a short man walked into the
palace of King David. The sentry did not dare to stop him. He stood before King
David and said My Lord I have something to tell you.
He said, "There were two men in a certain
town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of
sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one
little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his
children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It
was like a daughter to him.
"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the
rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal
for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that
belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."
David burned with
anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this
must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a
thing and had no pity."
Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man!
David realized the gravity of the mistake he had
done by taking the wife of Uriah, and causing his death in the battle front.
Dear brothers and sisters. The first message
of lent is that we should realize and accept that we have sinned. It is
human tendency justify us always and blame others. This tendency is as old
as mankind. When God questioned Adam about eating the forbidden fruit he
put the blame on Eve. (Gen 3:11-13)
God asked Adam "Have you eaten from the tree
that I commanded you not to eat from?"
The man said, "The woman you put here with
me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
Then the Lord God
said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and
I ate."
This attitude is being continued. It is seen in our
family, in the parish, in the office where we work and in the society. But Ash
Wednesday reminds us that we should feel conscious of our mistakes and accept
them. We should be able to tell before others that we are wrong.
When David became conscious of his sin, he
repented putting on sack cloth and ashes. These external actions were the
manifestations of his repentance.
The second message of Ash Wednesday is that our
fasting and prayer should be manifestations of our acceptance that we have
sinned.
In this season God calls us through the Church to
return to Him. May the season of lent give us strength and grace to accept His
call.
Satish