Ash Wednesday Sermon

Ezekiel 9:1-11; II Corinthians 5:20b-62; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

I started leading Ash Wednesday services when I was a pastor out in Iowa, working in a nine church parish. That was fifteen years ago. And at that time the United Methodist Church didn't have an official Ash Wednesday service. If a pastor wanted to do the service, either he or she had to make one up out of thin air, or use the liturgies of a denomination that did have an official Ash Wednesday service, such as the Episcopal Church, or the Orthodox Church, or the Lutheran Church, or the Roman Catholic Church.

But, a few years ago a book was written by a good United Methodist and that book was published by Abingdon Press. And the title of that book was From Ashes to Fire. In that book was not only a worship service for Ash Wednesday which made use of the ashes, but also included were many other worship services that a church could use during Lent, through Holy Week, on Easter Day and on other occasions all the way to the season of Pentecost. Needless to say, the book caught on. It was purchased by the thousands by United Methodist ministers and churches all across America. In fact, the book proved to be so popular that now many of its worship services will be included in the new United Methodist Book of Worship, when it comes out in a year or so.

So, in fifteen years, our denomination has come a long way towards appreciating something that twenty years ago many people had thought was a worship service reserved for Roman Catholics and other churches seemingly remote from the traditions of the United Methodist Church.

Of course, in the process of introducing this worship service to United Methodists, one of the things United Methodist pastors have heard asked is, "Is the service of the Ash biblical?" Indeed, are there biblical scriptures that would support the tradition of an ashen cross being put on the forehead of worshipers? And, having studied this question over the years, I would have to answer that the Bible does, indeed, support the tradition, our Old Testament lesson for tonight being one of the most notable examples I know of.

In Ezekiel's day Israel was corrupt. The Temple in Jerusalem had become polluted with the presence of idols. Cultic priests and pagan prophets inhabited the places where only the righteous had once dared to go. Offerings were being made to heathen god and goddesses right outside the Temple, itself. And, what's worse is that the king of Israel and most of his family had turned their backs upon the Lord and were following other gods.

So, Ezekiel was called upon by God to do something about this. So, Ezekiel went forth to preach and prophesy throughout the city of Jerusalem. And, over a short period of time, we can assume that Ezekiel's work had an impact, so much so that people began to listen to what he had to say.

And one of the methods Ezekiel used to get people to repent was to tell them about visions he had of how Israel was going to be judged if the people didn't repent. And one of these visions, and a very effective one, I might add, is the vision Ezekiel had while he was sitting in his home, one day, in the company of some of Israel's leaders.

Ezekiel says that while he was sitting with these men, suddenly the Spirit of God came along and pulled him by the hair right out of his seat and set him back down again in the Holy of Holies inside the Temple in Jerusalem. And, as he was standing there in walked six huge angels, each of them armed with a deadly weapon of some kind. And these six huge angels were led by another being dressed in a white linen robe, carrying a box with a marker and ink.

And Ezekiel says that he heard a voice coming from the throne of God telling the being dressed in white to go through the city and put a mark on the forehead of any persons he could find who was sorry for the sins of Jerusalem. So, the being dressed in white went forth throughout the city and marked all the persons he could find who were repentant.

Then Ezekiel says that the voice from the throne of God then told the six heavily armed angels to go through the city and slay any person, old men, young men and maidens, women and children, who didn't have the mark.

Now, we might wonder a bit about this mark. In fact, as we study the Hebrew, the word which is used for the word "mark" is the single letter "tau" which looked very much like a capital "T" or a cross, when drawn. Thus, it is assumed that this, a cross, was the mark that Ezekiel was talking about which was put on the foreheads of those who were sorry for the sins of Jerusalem. And, in fact, this account of Ezekiel's vision was so powerful and so convincing to the people of Jerusalem, that many did repent when they heard it told. And, for many years after that the mark of the cross, the written "tau", was one which was used to represent righteousness. And, in fact, the mark was put on many a Jewish tomb for many years as a symbol of repentance.

And the haunting question that we could all ask ourselves right now, and it is a serious question, indeed, is this one: If a being dressed in white were to come through our community this evening to identify those who were deeply troubled about the sins of our community, would we receive a mark?

If one of God's angels was sent right now to our town to identify those who were concerned about the amount of alcohol abuse which takes place, would we receive a mark? If Gabriel were sent from the very throne of God to our community to identify those who were haunted by the pornography that is so rampant and even so casually accepted by our society, would we receive a mark? If Michael were sent forth from the footstool of heaven to this community, tonight, to designate all those who were concerned about how quickly our people seem to be destroying the world God created us to live in, would we receive a mark?

Of course, as we have gathered together this evening to celebrate the beginning of Lent, most of us do so with the concerns I have mentioned. And, so, most of us will gladly receive Ezekiel's mark of concern, which is for us an ashen cross upon the forehead.

Today, it is a brave, even bold, person who dares to take a stand against the sins of our day. It isn't easy when most of the Ten Commandments are jeered at by so many people. "Thou shalt not commit adultery," has become a joke in many circles. "Thou shalt not bear false witness,"	is scoffed at by more than we would like to know. "Thou shalt not steal," is passé among many who think they're on the cutting edge. "Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain," among many folks, is taken about as seriously as Bush might be about pardoning Noriega. No, the fact of the matter is that any one takes a risk in getting up and with even half a voice suggesting that we need to get back on track; in saying that we've wandered a bit too far away from the truth of God.

And, yet, it was such persons -- persons who were vocally concerned about the sins of their society and their nation -- who, in Ezekiel's vision, were saved by the imposition of the mark. And the question we need to be asking ourselves tonight is this: Is that mark upon our soul today?

The Old Testament isn't the only place where we can find mention made of an identifying mark. For, indeed, in the book of Revelation two marks are described. One mark is the mark of Christ, which ironically was indistinguishable from Ezekiel's mark of concern. In the book of Revelation we are told that those who have the mark of Christ on their foreheads are those who have Christ in their hearts and who have kept themselves pure from the way of the Beast. And then we are told of another mark, the mark of the Beast, which is placed upon those who have turned their backs upon Christ and the teachings of the Way. And, again, the question is, "Which mark distinguishes us? Which mark do we have upon our soul?"

Tonight we will be given the opportunity to renew our commitment to the Way of Jesus and to the righteousness he calls us to. Symbols can be very meaningful. While they can not, in and of themselves, bring us salvation, they can teach us, they can lead us, they can guide us, and even mark us into the Way that we should go. Amen.