Ash Wednesday
Cycle C
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air
February 10, 2016 8:30am
Ashes
I am always struck by how many of us come to church on Ash
Wednesday.
We have almost made it a self-declared holyday of obligation! Yesterday, I was doing some reading and I
came across an insight into why this may be so.
The idea is that Ash Wednesday speaks to realities that we usually
like to hide and not think about. But we
know it is safe to look at them here today with God and with other persons of
faith.
So, the ashes speak of our mortality. They remind us that our time on this earth is
limited and that someday we will return to God.
The ashes also speak to the incompleteness or fragmentation of
human life. Maybe each one of us has the
experience that our lives or relationships are not exactly what we would like
them to be and we are not quite sure what to do about that.
And the ashes also speak to our human imperfection. We know that we have our dark sides and
weaknesses and growth edges and we can bring all of that here to God.
So, the ashes speak powerfully to us and that is why we come here
this morning. And then, Jesus in the
gospel passage sends us forth with three spiritual practices in mind: fasting,
prayer, and charitable giving.
These are to help us to live out of the awareness that the ashes
create. As I see it, fasting is the
pivotal practice because it leads to prayer and charity.
Fasting as the Key
The Church calls us to fast – to limit the amount of food we eat
on two days: today and on Good
Friday. The Church also asks us to
abstain from eating meat today and on all the Fridays of Lent.
That’s really not all that difficult, although the Church also asks
us to consider adopting some form of fasting or self-denial that is personal to
ourselves – maybe giving up chocolate or beer, things like that. But, if we just do the minimal fast that the
Church asks, that’s fine.
Our fasting has three purposes.
First, the experience of a little bit of physical hunger helps us
to experience our spiritual hunger for God.
It is only God who can satisfy this deeper hunger within us. In this way, our fasting can lead to some prayer,
to make time for reflection, to read some Scripture each day, to pray the
rosary, just to speak to God from our own hearts, just to pray in a way that is
good for us.
Second, our voluntary experience of a little bit of hunger helps
to create a bond with those who are hungry without choosing it.
It gives us a sensitivity to those who are in need. In this way, our fasting can lead us to charity
and to do what we can to assist others.
And third, fasting from food often connects us with some behavior
from which we need to fast.
For example, maybe we need to fast from talking negatively about
others or always putting ourselves and our own preferences first. This is what repentance means.
So, may the ashes speak deeply to each of us today and lead us to
a closer relationship with Jesus through this Lenten Season.
