Ash Wednesday
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII Cycle C
Seasonal Theme
Jesus and his disciples move toward Jerusalem and the cross.
Theme For The Day
A call for repentance and returning to God who gives us free, undeserved forgiveness, which should bring forth in us humility and servanthood.
Old Testament Lesson
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
A Call For Repentance
Pethuel's son, the prophet Joel, whose name means "The Lord is God," laments over the ruin of his country by a severe plague of locusts that destroyed the crops on which they were all dependent. Joel thought that the plague was God's punishment on Israel. He believes that judgment and their repentance had to happen before a new day of blessing could come upon the land. So Joel calls for repentance and prayer by the people. Thus he calls for a "... solemn assembly" (v. 14). According to the introduction in the New Revised Standard Version, "Joel sees in the massive locust plague and severe drought devastating Judah, a harbinger of 'the great and terrible day of the Lord' " (2:31).
As we know, "the day of the Lord" in the Old Testament may mean an eschatological battle or some historical event which brings in the new age. However, for Ash Wednesday it's probably wise not to get tangled up in "last things" but rather to talk about the need for repentance and a solemn assembly of prayer.
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10
God's Righteousness
I do not like the way this passage begins with the second half of verse 20. That first part is so very preachable! Paul reminds the Corinthians that we are Christ's ambassadors and that God works through him and us. Wow!
These two thoughts about Paul and the Christian are rich: "Ambassadors for Christ" in verse 20 and "... servants of God" in verse 6:4. And then this description of us in verse 10, which says, "... as having nothing, and yet possessing everything." This "preaches" in many of the places I have preached in the third world, like Suriname, Sumatra, Brazil, Uruguay, Liberia, and mainland China.
I believe the basic theology in this reading is in verse 21, which gives us our doctrine: sinless Jesus took on our sins in order that we might have God's righteousness.
Then there is the teaching of verse 6:1, which admonishes us not to accept this gift of God, called grace, in vain. Many have called this idea, "cheap grace."
The Gospel
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Humble Religious Practices
The Old Testament Lesson and this Gospel seem to contradict each other. While Joel calls for a public show of repentance, Matthew quotes Jesus telling the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount that their religious practices should be private and not for show in any way.
Give your offerings secretly.
Pray in private.
Don't show off your fasting.
Then comes the seemingly unconnected advice concerning our treasures in verses 19-21. And, of course the stories of people trying to store up their treasure here are numerous. Verse 21 is so profound and, especially for us wealthy Americans, it cries out to be preached by itself and with Spirit power.
Preaching Possibilities
A. If it were not for Ash Wednesday, we could use any of the readings by themselves.
B. Or we could even use one verse from any of the three readings. For instance:
1. Joel 1:14
-- Our need for this service of repentance
2. 2 Corinthians 5:21
-- We have the righteousness of God
3. Matthew 6:21
-- Locating our treasure
C. If we went with just the New Testament Reading, we could outline this way:
1. We are ambassadors for Christ (v. 20).
2. We have God's righteousness (v. 21).
3. We are servants of God (v. 4).
4. Though sorrowful, we can rejoice (v. 10).
D. After saying the above three possibilities in more liturgical churches where the imposition of ashes is practiced at this service, I still like to use the general message from all three readings as outlined below.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin with a prayer for this service to be meaningful to all who have come, that true repentance might be expressed.
B. Tell how the prophet Joel called for a service when the people repented of their many sins.
C. Move to list some reasons why we as a people ought to call such an assembly also: as a congregation, we have not lived out our discipleship as Jesus taught, to love each other and the unlovely, to go the extra mile, to pray for our enemies, to witness to our faith, to tithe and practice giving first fruits.
*Move to pray a prayer of confession asking for forgiveness for the above shortcomings.
D. Move to the reminder of the words used during the imposition of ashes: "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." Remind your hearers that the shortness of life ought to make life here and now more rich and meaningful.
*Move to a prayer of asking God to keep us mindful of how uncertain life is and how temporary this existence on earth is. And that we might live life to the fullest now.
E. Move to verse 21 in the New Testament Reading. This is what the symbol of the cross of ashes on our forehead means. We have forgiveness because of what Christ did on the cross.
*Move to a prayer of thankfulness for the undeserved forgiveness God gives us who are repentant this night.
F. Move to the advice of the Gospel not to make our religious practices a matter of showing off. So while we are signed with the cross of ashes, let us not depart with pride. Rather, let us humbly go to serve.
*Move to a prayer asking God to show us the way of humility and servanthood in response to all the marvelous good news of forgiveness we have tonight. Frame the prayerful sermon by reading Matthew 6:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21; and then Joel 2:14.
Prayer For The Day
Accept our attempt to admit our many sins tonight to remind each other of the shortness and uncertainty of life here. Help us always to rejoice in your loving forgiveness from the cross through your Son, Jesus the Christ. And teach us, during this season of Lent, humility and servanthood. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
The saintly old Andrew Hsiao, many years president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong, where I teach, told of his return to mainland China in 1979 to the little town where he grew up. He secretly took private communion to the ninety-year-old widow of the former pastor. She had no Bible, hymnal, or chance to worship all those years; but long ago she had memorized the psalms and could still recite them. And, like many Chinese, she could still pray. She insisted on receiving the sacrament on her knees. As he was giving her the bread, they heard someone coming up the stairs. Terror struck their hearts for fear they had been discovered. Then a seventy-year-old woman appeared, who wanted communion also. She was the little girl Andrew's father had baptized sixty years before! Andrew said the widow prayed a prayer of thanksgiving like he had never heard before or since. They cried tears of joy and real presence.
The headline in the Contra Costa Times, November 16, 1997, read, "Family Of Slain Palestinian Boy Donates Organs." An Associated Press story out of Jerusalem said that a nine-year-old Palestinian boy had died four days after an Israeli soldier shot him with a rubber-coated bullet. In a gesture of reconciliation, his family donated their son's organs to needy people regardless of whether they were Israeli or Palestinian.
In a four-hour procedure, the child's heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs were removed and sent to a hospital outside Tel Aviv. "Authorities were preparing to quell unrest after today's funeral."
The shooting came after a group of boys threw stones at soldiers near the Jewish enclave of Rachel's Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Those parents taught many a lesson about reconciliation.
On this beautiful sun-shining spring morning a bird flew into the kitchen window with a dramatic thud. The bird dropped to the ground stunned. After a while it regained its composure and flew away. Sudden trauma comes in the middle of such nice times and God helps us recover and go on.
In The Covenant Book of Worship published by Covenant Press in 1981 (p. 11): "The rhythm which emerges in biblical worship moves between memory and anticipation. Its integrity lies in its backward look of faith, its forward gaze of hope, and its present response of love."
Now that's worship.
____________
*These short prayers may be offered by someone else other than the preacher. This will bring more emphasis on prayer and also provide a variety in sound of voice.
Jesus and his disciples move toward Jerusalem and the cross.
Theme For The Day
A call for repentance and returning to God who gives us free, undeserved forgiveness, which should bring forth in us humility and servanthood.
Old Testament Lesson
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
A Call For Repentance
Pethuel's son, the prophet Joel, whose name means "The Lord is God," laments over the ruin of his country by a severe plague of locusts that destroyed the crops on which they were all dependent. Joel thought that the plague was God's punishment on Israel. He believes that judgment and their repentance had to happen before a new day of blessing could come upon the land. So Joel calls for repentance and prayer by the people. Thus he calls for a "... solemn assembly" (v. 14). According to the introduction in the New Revised Standard Version, "Joel sees in the massive locust plague and severe drought devastating Judah, a harbinger of 'the great and terrible day of the Lord' " (2:31).
As we know, "the day of the Lord" in the Old Testament may mean an eschatological battle or some historical event which brings in the new age. However, for Ash Wednesday it's probably wise not to get tangled up in "last things" but rather to talk about the need for repentance and a solemn assembly of prayer.
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 5:20b--6:10
God's Righteousness
I do not like the way this passage begins with the second half of verse 20. That first part is so very preachable! Paul reminds the Corinthians that we are Christ's ambassadors and that God works through him and us. Wow!
These two thoughts about Paul and the Christian are rich: "Ambassadors for Christ" in verse 20 and "... servants of God" in verse 6:4. And then this description of us in verse 10, which says, "... as having nothing, and yet possessing everything." This "preaches" in many of the places I have preached in the third world, like Suriname, Sumatra, Brazil, Uruguay, Liberia, and mainland China.
I believe the basic theology in this reading is in verse 21, which gives us our doctrine: sinless Jesus took on our sins in order that we might have God's righteousness.
Then there is the teaching of verse 6:1, which admonishes us not to accept this gift of God, called grace, in vain. Many have called this idea, "cheap grace."
The Gospel
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Humble Religious Practices
The Old Testament Lesson and this Gospel seem to contradict each other. While Joel calls for a public show of repentance, Matthew quotes Jesus telling the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount that their religious practices should be private and not for show in any way.
Give your offerings secretly.
Pray in private.
Don't show off your fasting.
Then comes the seemingly unconnected advice concerning our treasures in verses 19-21. And, of course the stories of people trying to store up their treasure here are numerous. Verse 21 is so profound and, especially for us wealthy Americans, it cries out to be preached by itself and with Spirit power.
Preaching Possibilities
A. If it were not for Ash Wednesday, we could use any of the readings by themselves.
B. Or we could even use one verse from any of the three readings. For instance:
1. Joel 1:14
-- Our need for this service of repentance
2. 2 Corinthians 5:21
-- We have the righteousness of God
3. Matthew 6:21
-- Locating our treasure
C. If we went with just the New Testament Reading, we could outline this way:
1. We are ambassadors for Christ (v. 20).
2. We have God's righteousness (v. 21).
3. We are servants of God (v. 4).
4. Though sorrowful, we can rejoice (v. 10).
D. After saying the above three possibilities in more liturgical churches where the imposition of ashes is practiced at this service, I still like to use the general message from all three readings as outlined below.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
A. Begin with a prayer for this service to be meaningful to all who have come, that true repentance might be expressed.
B. Tell how the prophet Joel called for a service when the people repented of their many sins.
C. Move to list some reasons why we as a people ought to call such an assembly also: as a congregation, we have not lived out our discipleship as Jesus taught, to love each other and the unlovely, to go the extra mile, to pray for our enemies, to witness to our faith, to tithe and practice giving first fruits.
*Move to pray a prayer of confession asking for forgiveness for the above shortcomings.
D. Move to the reminder of the words used during the imposition of ashes: "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." Remind your hearers that the shortness of life ought to make life here and now more rich and meaningful.
*Move to a prayer of asking God to keep us mindful of how uncertain life is and how temporary this existence on earth is. And that we might live life to the fullest now.
E. Move to verse 21 in the New Testament Reading. This is what the symbol of the cross of ashes on our forehead means. We have forgiveness because of what Christ did on the cross.
*Move to a prayer of thankfulness for the undeserved forgiveness God gives us who are repentant this night.
F. Move to the advice of the Gospel not to make our religious practices a matter of showing off. So while we are signed with the cross of ashes, let us not depart with pride. Rather, let us humbly go to serve.
*Move to a prayer asking God to show us the way of humility and servanthood in response to all the marvelous good news of forgiveness we have tonight. Frame the prayerful sermon by reading Matthew 6:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21; and then Joel 2:14.
Prayer For The Day
Accept our attempt to admit our many sins tonight to remind each other of the shortness and uncertainty of life here. Help us always to rejoice in your loving forgiveness from the cross through your Son, Jesus the Christ. And teach us, during this season of Lent, humility and servanthood. In Christ's name. Amen.
Possible Metaphors And Stories
The saintly old Andrew Hsiao, many years president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong, where I teach, told of his return to mainland China in 1979 to the little town where he grew up. He secretly took private communion to the ninety-year-old widow of the former pastor. She had no Bible, hymnal, or chance to worship all those years; but long ago she had memorized the psalms and could still recite them. And, like many Chinese, she could still pray. She insisted on receiving the sacrament on her knees. As he was giving her the bread, they heard someone coming up the stairs. Terror struck their hearts for fear they had been discovered. Then a seventy-year-old woman appeared, who wanted communion also. She was the little girl Andrew's father had baptized sixty years before! Andrew said the widow prayed a prayer of thanksgiving like he had never heard before or since. They cried tears of joy and real presence.
The headline in the Contra Costa Times, November 16, 1997, read, "Family Of Slain Palestinian Boy Donates Organs." An Associated Press story out of Jerusalem said that a nine-year-old Palestinian boy had died four days after an Israeli soldier shot him with a rubber-coated bullet. In a gesture of reconciliation, his family donated their son's organs to needy people regardless of whether they were Israeli or Palestinian.
In a four-hour procedure, the child's heart, liver, kidneys, and lungs were removed and sent to a hospital outside Tel Aviv. "Authorities were preparing to quell unrest after today's funeral."
The shooting came after a group of boys threw stones at soldiers near the Jewish enclave of Rachel's Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem. Those parents taught many a lesson about reconciliation.
On this beautiful sun-shining spring morning a bird flew into the kitchen window with a dramatic thud. The bird dropped to the ground stunned. After a while it regained its composure and flew away. Sudden trauma comes in the middle of such nice times and God helps us recover and go on.
In The Covenant Book of Worship published by Covenant Press in 1981 (p. 11): "The rhythm which emerges in biblical worship moves between memory and anticipation. Its integrity lies in its backward look of faith, its forward gaze of hope, and its present response of love."
Now that's worship.
____________
*These short prayers may be offered by someone else other than the preacher. This will bring more emphasis on prayer and also provide a variety in sound of voice.
