Ash Wednesday 2012

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Genesis 3:19
Theme: Ashes to Ashes

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Each of us is a complex collection of ashes destined to be riven from our immortal souls. But God intends to reconstitute us in the image of His Son who is the resurrection and the life. These truths comprise the full gist of the gospel. “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…” most of you have probably heard these words spoken more than once as you witnessed the coffin of someone you knew being lowered into the ground. After the fall into sin God issues to Adam this stinging declaration of his mortality, “For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”1 This is no trivial bit of information. It is the rendering of divine judgment.

Truly we are never more than one step from the grave. Without dismissing the truth of statistical averages we should recognize that age or health can give us a false sense of security. Probability may be on your side if you are young and healthy. But the curse of sin and its unpredictability is never on your side. Remember Christ’s response to those who queried about the victims killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them. Jesus offered no speculations. He said, “Do you think that they were more guilty than all the others…I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”2 Here we have the imperative of Lent; the ongoing urgency of Christian life. Forgiveness is never something we can do without.

When we stand at the graveside we view finality. Unable to comprehend or fully accept it we often react in a number of ways: anger, fear, denial, regret, sorrow, despair, even relief. Does that mean we should have a macabre pre-occupation with death? Should we be so concerned about the time or manner of our death that it causes anxiety or muddles our thinking? No, but we can have a more informed perspective on the present when we understand the end of the matter.

Human beings (in their faithless activities) are known for endlessly trying to delay or avoid the inevitable. Some are putting their corpses into the deep freeze in hopes that medicine will advance enough to cure their diseases so they can be resuscitated at a later date. According to recent information whole body cryogenic preservation costs about $150,000. Or for just 90 grand you can chose the neuropreservation option- but this involves the daunting reality of having your head severed from your body.

Others believe (as many have in centuries past) that the body is really of no concern at all. To them the soul is all that matters and once the soul is freed they will be released from all aspects of what we know as this physical existence. This can lead to an abuse of the body and an undervaluing of it as part of God’s creation. Still others believe in an endless cycle of reincarnation. Others somehow remain steadfastly in denial that what lies beyond the grave should concern them. Is it apathy because they believe nothing can be done about it anyway? Is it arrogance because they believe they have earned entrance to a better life beyond? Is it that they are simply dominated by the pursuits and indulgences of this life? Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”3 Are these not challenging words even for Christians? How are we faring?

At any rate the fundamental error is the idea that this life- essentially as we experience it- can be recovered or restored by some means that we have or hope to have at our disposal in the future. It is a denial of the invincible power of sin over our mortal frames. Our bodies march inevitably towards decay and death not because this is the ‘natural order or cycle” of things, but because humanity was severed from the life-giving Creator. Death is not nature’s way of propagating the next generation to take the place of the previous one. It is a verdict against evil gone chaotic.

But it is not the will of God to endlessly perpetuate this fallen existence. The truth of what Christ has accomplished is that sin is not invincible. Christ came to address just this crisis. Death does not have the final say. The Holy One was sacrificed on the altar of divine wrath so that believers might be spared the inevitable torment that would otherwise commence at death. The bible names this abysmal darkness- hell.

These are heavy things to consider. But it is the beginning of the season for reflecting on such weighty matters. God grant that the Holy Spirit would deepen our faith through such reflections during our Lenten journey this year. We will come 46 steps (the total number of days in Lent) closer to reaching our own mortality. But let us pray we are drawn closer to the Immortal One whose grip is eternal. Let us divest ourselves of the encumbrances that enmesh us in secular, trivial, and self-indulgent pursuits. Let us embrace our identity as the baptized children of God. Let us be buoyed by the wisdom of His word and feast on the body and blood of the Word become flesh. In these things we already participate in the power that overcomes the grave.

Christ has been crucified- for you and your salvation. His body did not succumb to decay. “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Christ was sealed in an earthy grave so that we might be freed from that threat. The angel asked the women on Easter morning, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”4 There are no cemeteries in heaven; no funerals, no pain of watching gravity pull that first handful of soil onto the descending coffin.

After a particularly inspiring worship service, a church member greeted the pastor. "Reverend, that was a wonderful sermon. You should have it published." The pastor replied, "Actually, I'm planning to have all my sermons published posthumously." "Great!" enthused the church member. "The sooner the better!" “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”…the sooner the better? Dare we believe it? Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +

Ash Wednesday
22 February 2012
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Genesis 3:19
2 Luke 13:4-5
3 Matthew 6:19
4 Luke 24:5-6