Throughout Epiphany, and Advent, we have been considering
the Way of Love disciplines of Learn,
Pray, Go, Worship, Rest, Turn, Bless.
We will continue this in Lent, as we look at the Book of
Ruth as a symbolic analogy of God’s love for us. The story is about the love of
a young Moabite woman, Ruth, for her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth remains with
Naomi despite rational and societal urgings to return to her own home and
people. It is also the story of God’s love for each of us.
Before we enter the heart and life of Ruth of Moab, we pause
for Ash Wednesday, which is this week. The Gospel for Ash Wednesday is Matthew
6:1-6,16-21. Jesus gives his followers advice on humility even when praying and
fasting.
Jesus said,
"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by
them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
"So whenever you
give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I
tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your
right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your
Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"And whenever you
pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly
I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and
pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you.
"And whenever you
fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces
so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have
received their reward. But when you
fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be
seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who
sees in secret will reward you.
"Do not store up
for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where
thieves break in and steal; but store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
The Gospel advises us to not look for acknowledgement by
those around us. Instead, we should humbly offer our alms, prayers, and fasting
to God. Humility, while not listed as one of the 7 disciplines of the Way of Love, is at the core of each of
them. Indiana Jones, in the Last Crusade
is facing the tests he must pass through to get to the true chalice. He has a
guide book his father has compiled throughout his life that advises you must be
penitent to pass through the first challenge. At the last moment, Indy realizes
that to be penitent is to be humble and he must ‘Kneel, the penitent man kneels
before God’. Diving to his knees he just escapes being decapitated.
To be humble is to submit to God--to kneel. The Rev. Rosalind C Hughes, Rector of the Church of the Epiphany, Euclid, Ohio, notes
in an Episcopal Café posting, “Submission, now as then, is whispered as a dirty
word. We prefer to project strength. But submitting to God, literally to place
ourselves under God’s sending authority, under God’s mission – submittere; there is nothing more dignified,
nothing more humble, nothing more empowering than that.” As we come to Ash
Wednesday, may we present ourselves as humble, submissive, and penitent before
God so that we can live into the Way of
Love practices genuinely.
When we take seriously the admonition to Rest
we will humbly set aside time for Sabbath realizing that we are not the center
of the universe and life will go on without us. Taking time daily to Pray
and Worship
reminds us that submit all we are to the One who really is in control. As we
seek to Learn we humbly open our minds to new knowledge, understanding
that we don’t actually ‘know it all’. Penitence informs how we Turn
in order to Go and Bless those in our lives, so that we
gain ‘treasures in heaven’.
May you have a blessed Ash Wednesday, and join me in living
a humble and Holy Lent.
