An Ash Wednesday invitation

By Martin Lucin - Grace Lutheran Church

Whenever our sinful selves turn inward hard enough or long enough, the commandments end up getting manipulated for our own benefit and our faith practices become contaminated — i.e., to whatever extent that the ego forces its way to center stage, the neighbor and God tend to get elbowed off altogether. No wonder so many pass on church participation because, after all, it is full of hypocrites. In the Greek world, this is an ordinary word for an actor, but in the New Testament it has the sense of a “spiritual pretender” or one who is playing a part. To a certain extent it’s true, we don’t fully live up to the teachings of our Lord.

Do you pray for forgiveness while holding a grudge against another person? Then you are a hypocrite.

Do you give to the church, but not sacrificially? Hypocrite.

Do you love all people, even those who look, believe and behave differently that you? If not, then you are a hypocrite.

The truth is that we are all hypocrites because we confess to Christ and yet do not live up to his teachings. And our Gospel story for Ash Wednesday is not about the pharisees, it is about you. It is impossible to completely live up to the teaching of Jesus – that’s why we are not saved by our works, but by the grace of Jesus Christ, and we do the best we can, but we know we fall short in our efforts to live authentically.

If Jesus says to forgive those who have done you wrong, then try your best to forgive.

If Jesus says love all your neighbors, even those who are unlike you, then do your best to love everyone.

But you’re not Jesus, and those ashes should remind you of that – you are a sinner who has been saved by grace.

So, there is only one hope for you – in the words of Paul, put on Christ. Stop trying to live “righteously” by your own power. Surrender yourself to Christ’s Spirit this Ash Wednesday and let him live through you — you are invited to begin living the grace life.

So, underneath those ashes, there will be a mask – and it will not be the mask that the world thinks you are wearing, the mask of hypocrisy, of seeking to appear to be something you are not. No, it will be a mask that says, this is what I hope to become. I want to be like Jesus.

I pray that you will accept this invitation to begin living the grace life. It is an invitation that will go out from Grace Lutheran Church long after my work there concludes on June 30. And I will promise that, as you wear your mask, I will pray that God will transform you until you become the person you are “pretending” to be.

A person like Jesus.