Appearance vs. Reality- Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday 2015

Rev. Stephen E. Stults

St. Paul’s Anglican Church

February 18 2015

Matthew 6:16   ¹⁶”Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”

Ah, here we are in the season of Lent.  One can see it as a beautiful, somber time of reflection and prayer, where one prepares one’s heart for the coming Resurrection season, or one can see it as that slightly annoying time that precedes Easter.  Or, one can simply ignore Lent altogether, which is what many, many people do.  That is, if they even recognize that Lent is happening.  After all, outside of the historic churches, Lent may be an endangered species.

Let us pose a couple of questions.  Why could one see Lent as that slightly unpleasant, slightly annoying time before Easter?  If so, if one simply ignores it, does that make it better?  Let’s tackle the first question before we proceed to the second. 

Consider this: Lent is that special season where those who are spiritually aware may feel a special call, a “tug”, if you will, in their spirits. That is, our Lord uses this season, in the framework of the Church, to make us aware that something special is about to happen, both in the outward season of Lent, and in the quiet, interior recesses of our souls.  If one responds in an affirmative fashion, through worship, through prayer, and through meditation, as well as some exterior exercises in holiness, such as fasting or abstinence, this season can be especially beneficial.  If, on the other hand, and this is where the spiritual discomfort comes in, if one chooses to ignore the call, other, less positive experiences occur.  The Spirit calls us to respond to Him, Again, when we do, the positive gifts of the Spirit begin to grow in us…  That is, gifts such as love, joy, peace, patience, godliness, humility, and self-control begin to grow in us.

On the other hand, when we ignore the Spirit, or completely reject His call in our lives, other, less wonderful things begin to happen to us.  Most of us are familiar with that vague feeling that we should be doing something, at various times in our lives.  God send us this special feeling of “dis-ease” if you will, as a means to call us to Him. If we are spiritually mature, we are able to recognize this for what it is: a gracious, if somewhat stern call for the fellowship our soul needs.  If we are not spiritually alive, we are simply aware of a vague sense of uneasiness, or unsettled-ness.  Think of this: some people live their entire lives in this condition, and may not even be aware of what they need.  Another way of looking at this comes from St. Francis of Assisi, who once remarked that every man has a God-sized hole in his soul; one which only God can fill.  It is our prayer that all of us have filled this hole with His Holy Presence.  It is also our prayer that we can help those who haven’t filled it to do so. Obviously, we do that by offering them the comfort and the fellowship of the Church.

Let’s consider the second question. What happens if we committed Christians ignore Lent, or just fail to observe it?  Yes, we too will feel that sense of unease, as God continues to call us closer to Him. That is, we will feel something lacking in our souls until we consent to open our hearts and souls to Him. Recently, we had a conversation with a priestly associate of mine and we shared a similar commonality.  That simply was a desire to attend church on the Sabbath, even if it weren’t our vocation.  He and I shared a common “pull” to attend Divine Service, with the corresponding sense of loss to our week if we didn’t, for some reason, make it.  This priest would venture to surmise that most people in this room have a similar godly tug to come to church.  If so, how blessed are we? We are very blessed indeed.

Thus, perhaps we can draw a conclusion that, similarly, if we fail to observe Lent, we will arrive at Easter somewhat empty-handed.  By this we mean that our Easter observance will not have the same abundance of joy that it could have had.  A famous English epigram states, “What we achieve too easily, we esteem too lightly.”  What a true statement!

Now, not that we have to earn our Easter through Lenten exercises, but a proper response to God’s call simply heightens our anticipation of the blessed event and creates in us a truer appreciation of the upcoming Easter joy…

Let’s look at this in terms of today Gospel selection.  Christ tells us, (Matthew 6:16-18) “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”  ¹⁷ But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;  ¹⁸ That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.”    Obviously, this passage refers to those who do engage in religious exercises, but for the wrong reasons.  Rather than seeking the spiritual fruit inherent in such godly work, they seek a more immediate, vain, and earthly reward: the approbation of men. Christ tells them plainly: they have their reward.  If they seek the reward of men, they shall have it, but they forfeit the less obvious, but more lasting spiritual reward their Heavenly Father has for them.  As usual, if one seeks to shortcut God, or to choose Satan’s counterfeits, one loses out on the more permanent and real benefits of God.

Christ goes on to tell us (Matthew 6:19-21) ^1” Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  ²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  ²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Usually this passage is construed to mean material treasures that one accumulates at the expense of heavenly things.  This is a good and instructive way to interpret this passage, of course. But today, we want to consider this passage in light of forfeiting spiritual treasures for the ephemeral, earthly praise of men. Thus, when Our Lord speaks of earthly treasures, let us consider the praise and recognition of men vs. this heavenly blessing.

Lest one think this is just too nebulous to be of value, let us consider the very real earthly fruit that the love of praise can engender.  Here, we are simply speaking of the dangers of parading our faith before men, not for the greater glory of God, but for our own self-satisfaction or self-gratification.  Of course, aside from the impure motive from which this is derived, is the very real spiritual trap set by our Enemy below.  He will exploit this to spawn that most hideous of sins, pride. As we aware, pride is one of the chief sins, having led to Lucifer’s expulsion from Heaven and his subsequent renaming as Satan.

It, pride, is one of our chief spiritual enemies as well.  We know this because pride is such a creator of hypocrisy.  This, as we all know, is the chief charge our opponents and the enemies of Christianity level at us.  Let us seek, in Christ’s name, to avoid this sin at all costs and as much as we possibly can to deny our adversaries any ammunition.

Thus, we enjoin you, beloved, to seek the highest and the best Lent you can achieve.  This may involve giving up something in honor of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for us.  It certainly means a higher level of devotion in our daily prayers.  This Lent, we urge you to use the Lectionary morning and evening to derive the most out of your private time with God.  We urge you to have a conscious awareness of the enhanced spiritual climate of Lent and how you can participate in it, even in the quiet chambers of your own inner being.  Finally, we urge you to lay up for yourselves spiritual and heavenly treasures, so that you can fully appreciate the approaching joys of Easter.

Lent is here.  It is a somber, yet quietly joyful time of recognition of our need for
God. It is a time of spiritual growth and spiritual preparation.  It is a time in which we can reap great benefits to ourselves and for those around us, as we lay up for ourselves the eternal, lasting joys of Heaven.

Matthew 6:21” For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”