Did you hear about the lady who shut down the US and Canadian border? Apparently Canadian customs officials found a grenade in the glove compartment of a 28-year-old woman¡¦s Ford Explorer as she crossed the border on last Monday. Due to the current tensions re: terrorist activities, this created an hour or so shutdown of the border. She was actually trying to get to Vancouver WA but wounded up heading to Vancouver BC!
How did she get such a "wrong idea" and ended up severely traumatized as a result? It got a lot of people upset too, I bet, who had to endure the hour long shutdown of one the busiest border crossings. I believe some of us, as we observe this coming season of Lent may be similarly traumatized if we don¡¦t get the right information and get steered away from Christ.
My purpose this morning is to give to you some insight into the Passion, Ash Wednesday and Lent. For those of us who grew up in non-liturgical churches, like me, we have little or no exposure to words like Lent or Ash Wednesday. Some people may ask you why or why do you not observe these times as a result of the Passion of the Christ movie. They may ask this - aren¡¦t all Christians supposed to follow the Christian calendar? They may want to know more of the meaning behind those words that may be unfamiliar to you which non-believers think you ought to know.
Furthermore, this coming week or weeks perhaps a number of you will be heading to the movies for Mel Gibson¡¦s The Passion of the Christ which opens right on Feb 25th i.e. Ash Wednesday. As a result, some attention may be warranted here. Based on the media attention it is getting, it looks like it¡¦s going to be a really big success at the box-office. And so even Christians may want to brush up on what the season of Lent is all about.
So what is ¡§Ash Wednesday¡¨? Here are some particulars about that day that you may or may not know: (source: Jo H. Lewis and Gordon A. Palmer, What Every Christian Should Know, 1989, p.64)
„h It is the first day of a season called ¡§Lent¡¨ in the liturgical church year.
„h Lent is the period of forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter.
„h The forty days are a reminder of the time Jesus fasted in the wilderness.
„h It is one of the oldest observations, early church father Irenaus of Lyons (c.130-c.200) apparently wrote of observing Lent and it lasted for two or three days (Ted Olsen, ¡§The Beginning of Lent¡¨, 2/19/99 article on Christianitytoday.com)
„h Scripture lessons that reminded people of their sinfulness and therefore the need for grace are emphasized.
„h Liturgical Christians enter into a season of penitence and preparation for the Holy Week and Easter.
„h The name comes from the ancient practice of applying ashes to the forehead to symbolize the truth - ¡§Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.¡¨ See Genesis 3:19.
„h The ashes are a sign of repentance and sorrow for sin.
So why don¡¦t some Christian people make a big deal of it? Perhaps the key reason some don¡¦t - is the teaching we receive from the New Testament:
¡§¡KGod made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross¡K Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of things that were to come; the reality, however is found in Christ.¡¨ Colossians 2:13-17 (NIV)
¡§God made you alive with Christ¡¨ ¡V speaking of the work of Christ on the cross, which has the effect or result ¡§He forgave us all our sins.¡¨ That tells us there is no need to add more to our religious works or deeds. All sin is forgiven, hence there is no need for additional outward religious observances to curry favor with God. Jesus said the work is finished, a done deal (Jn.19:30).
There is no need for people to rack their brains to know if there is more to be done, like observing Lent or Ash Wednesday to ensure that we are right with God. There is no need to be nervous about God anymore. Every time I cross the border, I am nervous, what if the customs just had his wife ream him out, he¡¦s having a bad day and desires to take his frustration out on me??? What if he just want to tick me off because he may be a racist? With God, there is no need to be nervous anymore.
The Bible clearly announces:
"God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ" (Rom.3:22,GNB).
War between a holy God and sinful humanity is declared over through Christ as the Bible says "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1 GNB).
By faith alone we experience God¡¦s unmerited favor, God¡¦s grace! Therefore, it is a matter of exceeding joy for us rather than sorrow. No need for nervousness! As the Bible exclaims: "we REJOICE because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God¡¦s friends" (Rom 5:11, GNB). Don¡¦t u like the sound of that, "God¡¦s friends"?? Yeah!
The other day I was filling in a form to get some points for my Sony credit card, and it says right there, if the form is not filled correctly I will not be credited with my well-earned points. I worked hard at the form poured over it, making sure I filled every line, spell it out, just to get the points. I made sure I got every bit of info that was needed, putting down the exact 16 digit number of the card, the exact amount that was purchased, the exact number printed on the UPC code, get the right pieces of ID and so on and on... it is not so simple, and this for some SONY points.
Thank God, He made it simple. Trust the work of Christ and believe it in our heart that He forgave us all. We are right with God, only because of what Jesus did on the cross! Not because we work hard at getting the points.
Hence, the key issue is whether or not Christ is in your life, not religious festivals, right? Have you made Christ the center of your life? Do you worship Him or do you go through the motions of religious festivals? Do you know that through Christ¡¦s death on the cross all sins are forgiven when you trust Him? There is no need to score points with God anymore. Just love him with all you¡¦ve got in response to his awesome sacrificial love.
Accordingly, the Bible teaches: ¡§Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.¡¨ Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV)
Anybody here heard of a rich man called John Davis who lived in Hiawatha, Kansas? Davis, was a farmer and a self-made man. He began as a lowly hired hand and by sheer determination and frugality he managed to amass a considerable fortune in his lifetime. In the process, however, the farmer did not make many friends. Nor was he close to his wife¡¦s family, since they thought she had married beneath her dignity. Embittered, he vowed never to leave his in-laws a thin dime.
When his wife died, Davis erected an elaborate statue in her memory. He hired a sculptor to design a monument, which showed both her and him at the opposite ends of a love seat. He was so pleased with the result that he commissioned another statue ¡V this time of himself, kneeling at her grave, placing a wreath on it. That impressed him so greatly that he planned a third monument, this time of his wife kneeling at his future gravesite, depositing a wreath. He had the sculptor add a pair of wings on her back, since she was no longer alive, giving her the appearance of an angel. One idea led to another until he¡¦d spent no less than a quarter million dollars on the monuments to himself and his wife! So right there in Mt. Hope Cemetery, in Hiawatha, Kansas, stands a rather strange group of gravestones.
Whenever someone from the town would suggest he might be interested in a community project (a hospital, a park and swimming pool for the children, a municipal building, etc.) the old miser would frown, set his jaw and shout back, ¡§What¡¦s this town ever done for me? I don¡¦t owe this town nothin¡¦!¡¨
After using up all his resources on stone statues and selfish pursuits, John Davis died at 92, a grim-faced resident of the poorhouse. But his monuments¡K it¡¦s strange¡K Each one is slowly sinking into the Kansas soil, fast becoming victims of time, vandalism and neglect. Monuments of spite. Sad reminders of a self-centered, unsympathetic life. There is a certain poetic justice in the fact that within a few years, they will all be gone.
Oh by the way, very few people attended Mr. Davis¡¦ funeral. It is reported that only one person seemed genuinely moved by any sense of personal loss. He was Horace England¡K the tombstone salesman.
Source: ¡§Monuments¡¨ by Charles L. Allen in Stories for the Heart, compiled by Alice Gray (1996).
John Davis set his heart on statues and things below. And guess what happened? He did not make a lot of friends. He died but no one really cared that he was gone except for Horace England. His focus was on building statues on a gravesite (things below). The fruit of his labor now is slowly sinking into dirt.
But Jesus¡¦ death on the cross is remembered through all of history ¡V because He cared, He loved, He gave His life. He tells us if we focus on Him, and live in Him and trust Him we will be changed, and we will gain a thing that can never be lost ¡V life eternal! Lent is a great reminder to focus our hearts on things above, on redemption, on Christ who loved us and gave up His life for us. If Lent merely focuses in on sin and not the redemptive action of our hero and master Jesus, then the message He wants to give us will be obscured. In the Bible, Paul the Apostle realized that the message on some believers was obscured and he was troubled by it. This is what he wrote, "Why do you want to become ...slaves all over again? You pay special attention to certain days, months, seasons, and years. I am worried about you...You were so happy! What has happened?" (Galatians 4:9-11,15 GNB).
What are we building in our lives? If we focus in on Christ, we will know that to a world of John Davises, Jesus died for them. Jesus would love him¡K Jesus would be deeply saddened by his departure away from His grace. Remember story of the Rich young man¡K He thought he followed every rule but he was in love with his money. Well Jesus still loved him but that did not change the rich young fella, he trusted in what he could do, he could touch see and feel not in Christ not in the love of God. As a result, he went away from Jesus¡¦ presence sorrowful, with no hope because he trusted in money. Here was a sorrowful guy but not sorry enough to leave his money behind and follow Jesus.
If Lent or the passion just produces sorrow but no hope, then we are moving away from Christ¡¦s work that says ¡§all sin is forgiven¡¨ because He loved us even while we were yet His enemies (Rom.5:6).
Have you examined lately the last seven statements of Christ from the cross:
1. "Father, forgive them; they don¡¦t know what they¡¦re doing." (Lk.23:34, MSG)
2. ¡§Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Lk.23:43, NIV)
3. "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." (John 19:26-27, NIV)
4. "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" (Matt.27:46, MSG)
5. ¡§I am thirsty¡¨ (John 19:28, NIV)
6. ¡§It is finished¡¨ (John 19:30, NIV)
7. "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Lk.23:46, NIV)
What Jesus chose to say and recorded for us while hanging for his life on the cross, speaks powerfully of the depth of love Jesus possesses, and the grace He wished to pour out to all humanity. He could have easily abandon this whole thing. Why suffer such a torturous death? Yet this is what He did ¡V
1. He would forgive those who crucified him, his enemies, giving anyone who turned against God the opportunity to be pardoned. No one is beyond hope.
2. He would grant paradise to a convicted criminal, giving the hope of heaven for every one who is as guilty as sin. Again, no one is beyond hope!
3. He would think of his Mary¡¦s welfare while undergoing torturous pain.
4. His cry of abandonment from the Father that He chose to undergo to pay the price of sin for us.
5. His desire to fulfill all of Scripture, to remind us the purpose of His death and torture is to redeem us!
6. His completion of the work, not abandoning it for our sakes!
7. His trust in the Father, and return to the Father.
If observing Lent helps you to get in the mode of worship i.e. setting your minds on Christ, His story of sacrificial death, producing faith hope and most of all love, loving Him, centering on His purposes, go to it then. If observing Lent helps you focus on the good things of God, the things above, such as forgiving others, being compassionate, being kind and humble, gentle, be patient, bearing another¡¦s shortcomings, most of all to love like Christ. But if Lent only makes you sorrowful with no hope, then it is moving us away from the Christ who promises life to be full, who gave us peace as we justified by faith, not by works or religious festivals.
If observing Lent does not obscure the joyful message of Christ and it helps to focus in on Christ, to worship Him who gave His life for them, then by all means go to it with all you¡¦ve got. The truth is we need help to focus like this at all times, not just during the Spring or Lent. God is seeking people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24)
Lyrics to a song:
¡§Amazing love, how can it be?
That Thou My God shouldst die for me!¡¨
- Charles Wesley (circa 1738)
Does this resonate within you? Causing you to pause in wonder and amazement at what the Passion of the Christ is all about?
Look once again this season to The no-lose plan of God! Let me refer you to this Bible verse:
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, HOW CAN WE LOSE? If God didn¡¦t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn¡¦t gladly and freely do for us? Romans 8:31-32 (MSG)
Or in another version:
What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won¡¦t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? Romans 8:31-32 (NLT)
Remember the love! God loves you very much. What He would love to see is this - His children doing what He specializes in ¡V loving till it hurts. When we love as He loves, the world will be a much better place. Does Lent produce in you - Faith hope and love but most of all, the greatest thing in all the world LOVE? That¡¦s what Passion, Ash Wednesday and Lent ought to spark in us all who receive and believe in Christ."Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of things that were to come; the REALITY, however is found in Christ.¡¨
Let me close with this Bible verse from the lips of Jesus -
¡§If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him¡¨ Matt 7:11 (NIV)
Think about it, imperfect earthly fathers enjoy giving good gifts to their kids, don¡¦t they? Jesus invites us to make the contrast, what about the holy and perfect Father in heaven? Wow! God the Father gave His Son for us. What¡¦s your position now on Jesus Christ? Does He inspire in you faith hope and love?
Prayer:
I¡¦m going to pray a prayer and if today you would say, ¡§Yes, I accept who Jesus is and what He has done for me,¡¨ then I invite you to pray this prayer in your heart. God will hear you. Say ¡§Dear God, I believe that You sent Your son, Jesus, to die for my sins so I can be forgiven. I¡¦m sorry for my sins. I want to live the rest of my life the way You want me to. Please put Your Spirit in my life to direct me. Amen.¡¨
