(A meditation for Ash Wednesday)
It’s an old story, but it bears repeating. An armed robber accosted a French priest on a dark, back street in Paris and demanded his wallet. As the priest opened his coat to reach for his wallet, the thief caught sight of his clerical collar and immediately apologized. “Never mind, Father,” he said. “I didn’t realize you were a priest. I’ll be on my way.”
The priest was relieved, of course, and good-naturedly offered the man a cigar. “No, thank you, Father,” the robber said, “I gave up smoking for Lent.” Interesting. He gave up smoking for Lent, but not relieving innocent people of their wallets.
Jesus loves all the people in the world. That’s an integral part of our faith. But that doesn’t mean he liked everybody. For example, it’s obvious that one group Jesus disliked was the hypocrites. We’re often reminded that Jesus never called anyone a sinner, and that’s true. He looked pass the sin to the person caught in wrong-doing. Still, it is obvious that even Jesus had no sympathy for hypocrites—people who say one thing but do exactly another.
Now I have to be careful here. None of us totally live up to our faith. That’s why the elements of grace and forgiveness are so important in our faith. Still, most of us are aware of our shortcomings and regret them.
The hypocrite that irked Jesus, however, was the person who pretended more righteousness than he or she really felt. These were people who loved to be recognized in their community for their piety and their charity. But they only gave when there was a television or newspaper reporter present so their name would be read out over the airways. They gave more to the university than to their church, because the university would give them honored seats at the ball game or would name a building after them. And when they pray, they do it loudly so that everyone in the restaurant will know that they were saying grace, unlike the unwashed heathen around them. And they particularly loved Ash Wednesday. They could leave church with the ashes on their forehead and still make it to the restaurant before closing time so that people could see that they were God’s elect.
Now notice, Jesus never said these were bad people. He did not say they were going to hell. All he said was that they already had their reward. You may read into that what you will. Listen closely to Christ’s words:
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So, when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you...”
It is evident that Christ had little regard for people who made a show of their religion. Rather, his kingdom would be built through people who are authentic in the faith they profess.
Some of you may remember a wonderful true story the Rev. Timothy J. Kennedy tells that is perfect for Ash Wednesday. It was told to him by a colleague, another Pastor named Chris Mietlowski. It concerned a baptism that Mietlowski once performed on an infant named Eric.
Mietlowski took Eric in his arms and traced the cross of Christ on Eric’s forehead using a special anointing oil. Following worship, Eric’s family celebrated with a big backyard party. Family and friends ate burgers and chips and played volleyball under a summer sun. Eric, being only six months old, was left to nap in his backyard stroller.
When Mom got him up, she was in for a surprise. Basted on Eric’s forehead was the image of the cross. Mom had forgotten to wash Eric’s face following his baptism, and the oil that the pastor had traced onto his forehead had acted exactly the opposite from the way a sunscreen would. The Cross of Christ was now imprinted on Eric’s forehead. “For several weeks until it completely disappeared,” says Rev. Kennedy, “that cross was a wonderful reminder as to the meaning of Baptism and a reminder that the Cross of Jesus was ‘written’ upon Eric’s forehead.” *
Eric’s cross became a powerful metaphor for the influence the cross should have in Eric’s life. And what a powerful witness it was, says Rev. Kennedy. “Eric’s Mom and Dad had to explain the cross to the pediatrician, to the neighbors, to the stranger in the grocery store . . . It was only a bit of a sunburn to be sure, but [it was] the best basting a child can have--to be marked with the cross of Christ!”
What a striking story for Ash Wednesday.
It reminds me of a story of a two-year-old who had gone with her family to her church’s Ash Wednesday service. She was upset that her mother was not taking her to the altar with the rest of the family.
She was overheard exclaiming: “But I want to get a tattoo just like Daddy’s!” You can see a young child making that kind of mistake.
The mark we will make on our forehead this evening is not exactly a tattoo like we may wear on our body. It is rather a symbol of a tattoo that is to exist on our heart.
C.S. Lewis once noted that there are two central truths about human nature. “First,” he writes, “that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts,” he continues “are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in.” So, at our baptism we have water applied to our body and a tattoo applied to our heart as a sign that our loving Heavenly Father accepts us just as we are.
*http://gracelutheranchurch.com/sermons/2005/05/29.