Ash Wednesday; February 6, 2008  Isaiah 58:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21; Psalm 103:8-14. The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith Ash Wednesday Today we begin the journey of Lent - a journey into greater self-awareness and a deeper love of God. As Christians, we are always on this journey and during Lent we focus all the more as we prepare for Easter. What will God create in you this Lent? How will God draw you closer? The Gospel reading is clear - don't act religious for the sake of others. Take seriously God's promise to help you grow in your awareness of what is holy and of God. All spiritual practices are intended to deepen our love for God. We focus on repentance during Lent. We are challenged everyday to choose God's ways over other ways. Now in this church, we do not teach that life in the world is at war with the life of the spirit. God is part of our everyday life, here and now. God created this world and blessed it. So to say that it is a challenge to choose God's way over other ways, is to claim the high calling of our identity as children of God. Something can be good, but something else can be better for us as we seek to grow in holiness. You and I have been made in the image of God - we are at our core, the deepest most abiding part of our being, good. So when we talk about repentance, we may be talking about turning from a particular behavior that is destructive to ourselves and others, but more often, every day, the act of repentance is that of turning more and more to God through our choices. We find that repentance is the path to growth in holiness. We become more and more devoted to God and each other. I love verse 14 of Psalm 103: "For [God] knows where of we are made; [God] remembers that we are but dust." Rather than condemnation, this is about salvation. We are dust not in the sense of being unholy, but rather we are part of God's holy creation. The ashes of this day, remind us that we are mortal; we do have our limits. Much of life is spent by many - and by most at one time or another - trying to prove that we are in control. Our mortality is irrefutable proof that we are not in control. The amazing grace is that we find our freedom without limit in God, who gives it to us freely. God remembers. God remembered and gave us Jesus so that sin and death would not destroy us. To say that you and I are dust is to say that we acknowledge our limits, while at the same time knowing that God saves us from those very limits. God saves us; God will not let us go. Lent is our time of special devotion - a great chance to grow in our self-awareness and our love of God. We repent - we turn from all that gets in the way of our relationship with God. Rather than being a dreary time in the church, this is a time of great possibility. The focus is on God's grace and mercy rather than on our sins. The spiritual practices that we take on for Lent are intended to bring us closer to God. So, if giving something up for Lent helps you to deepen your relationship with God, do that. If giving something up causes you to think a lot about that thing and how virtuous you are in your self-denial, that is probably not the right spiritual practice for you. You may want to take on something on for Lent such as devoting more time to prayer, reading the Bible, or volunteering to help those in need. Here's an easy one: for those who don't normally come to church every week, try coming every week of Lent. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. Isaiah makes it clear that God seeks our growth in personal piety in ways that benefit those in our world who need our love the most. We hear the conversation between God and the people - the people have done all the pious things but God sees that their hearts are not in the right place(Isaiah 58:6-7): Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice,…to let the oppressed go free,…Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, The Lenten devotional guide we are using explores the millennium development goals - these are the goals of the United Nations and strongly endorsed by the Episcopal Church - goals such as eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. Using this guide gives us one way to broaden our Lenten focus. Yes, our personal relationship with God needs attention and care, but thinking more broadly helps us to avoid excessive and unhelpful introspection. We have all been called mission. How does our growth in holiness connect with God's mission for us? Seeing those connections aids our repentance and gives us focus. God is focused on you and me. Nothing is more important to God. Lent is a time for us to consider how we can embrace God all the more, receive God's love, and share that love with others. May the season of Lent be for you a time filled with God's grace, as you grow in holiness and devotion to God. Amen.