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Psalm 51
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Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar. (ESV)
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Death and Life
Ash Wednesday
22 February 2012
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There is repentance and there is repentance. Ash Wednesday is a day that calls us to repent. But what does this mean? For Christians repentance is sorrow over sin; what we normally call contrition, but contrition is never separated from faith in Christ. Repentance is much more than sorrow over sin. There is gallows repentance: we are sorry that we have to pay the penalty. This is not yet Christian repentance. It is deep sorrow that we have offended against God and man by transgressing the law. We find ourselves stripped naked of our self-righteous pride. We appear before the judgment throne of God. We are undone by His holy sight (Is 6:5). We cannot run from this scene. We may not flee from before the almighty Judge. He sees into the core of our being, into our heart of darkness.
However, contrition must also be met by the holy gospel. Jesus calls us to repent and believe in the gospel (Mk 1:15). This is what Paul means when he talks about "godly grief: "For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death" (2Co 7:10). The Lutheran Confessions describes the effects of good preaching this way: "We teach that a person is justified when conscience, terrified by the preaching of repentance, is cheered and believes that for Christ's sake it has a reconciled God. 'Faith is counted as righteousness [before God]' (Romans 4:3, 5)" (Ap 4: 292). We are terrified by the law and comfort is granted only by the gospel. The gospel's sweetness is made the more sweet against the threat of the law and its deadly results. The law will truly kill so that then the gospel will make alive.
Today is a day when we face death. Our pastors will mark us with ash. He will say, "Dust you are. To dust you shall return." We are walking into our tomb today. We are placed into the function of baptism. It is killing us. We died with Christ and live with Him. Lent is a time at which we live in this death and only in this way to live. |
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John Chrysostom
"Whoever does not believe in hell should call these things to mind. Whoever thinks they can sin without being punished, should take account of these things. Why did Esau not obtain pardon? Because he had not repented. Do you want to see true repentance? Hear of the repentance of Peter after his denial. For the Evangelist in relating to us the things concerning him, says, "And he went out and wept bitterly" (Mt 26:75). Even such a sin was forgiven him, because he repented. Although the Victim had not yet been offered, nor had the sacrifice as yet been made, nor was sin as yet taken away, it still had the rule and sovereignty. "That you may learn, that this denial occurred not so much from apathy, as from His forsaking God, who was teaching him to know the measure of man and not to contradict the sayings of the Master, nor to be prouder than the rest, but to know that nothing can be done without God, and that 'Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain' (Ps 127:1). So Christ said to him alone, 'Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail' (Lk 22:31-32).For since it was likely that he would be proud, being conscious that he loved Christ more than all the other apostles, therefore 'he wept bitterly;' and he did other things after his weeping, of the same character. For what did he do? After this he exposed himself to unnumbered dangers and by many means showed his audacity and courage. "Judas also repented, but in an evil way, for he hanged himself. Esau too repented; as I said; or rather, he did not even repent; because his tears were not tears of repentance, but rather of pride and wrath. And what followed proved this. The blessed David repented, thus saying, 'Every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping' (Ps 6:6). And the sin which had been committed long ago, after so many years, after so many generations he bewailed, as if it had recently occurred (Ps 25:7)." John Chrysostom, Homily on Hebrews, 31.4 |
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Collect for Ash Wednesday
Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are repentant. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
For those who have suffered the death of loved ones, that they would mourn with confidence in the mercy of God
For those who will gather with the faithful to have ashes imposed upon them of signs of our weakness and mortality, that they might be repentant and trust the promise of Christ
For the capital campaign "A Memorial for the People," that God's people would be led to be generous for the sake of the church
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Art: GRÜNEWALD, Matthias Isenheim Altarpiece (1515)
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 © Scott R. Murray, 2011
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