+ Ash Wednesday – February 18th, 2015 +
Redeemer Lutheran, HB
(Readings from Lenten Pulpit Exchange) Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Romans
3:9-24; Mark 12:28-34
In the Name of the Father and
of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today, and throughout the 40
days of Lent, we hear and confess the severity of our sin. We hear and confess
and behold the cost of our sin. The ashen cross upon our foreheads is a
reminder of the just penalty of our sin. We crucified Jesus. The wages of our
sin is death. It was our sin that put God’s only begotten Son to death on the
cross.
Even the name - Ash Wednesday -
declares what this day, this season of Lent is all about. Repentance. On Ash
Wednesday, the curse of the garden stings our ears with that solemn and
sobering sentence.
“Remember that you are dust and
to dust you shall return.”
Yes, the cross of Ash Wednesday
is a reminder of your sin, but also of your Savior. Jesus' cross is greater
than your sin. Today we hear and confess that Jesus’ forgiveness is greater
than the severity of our trespasses. Today we hear and confess and behold
the costly grace won for us by Jesus death on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty
for our sin, in full. It is finished. Jesus became our sin to rescue, redeem,
as restore us. The tree of Jesus’ cross overcomes the tree of Adam’s
temptation.
This is why on Ash Wednesday
and every Sunday, we confess our sins, that we would hear all the more clearly
the joyous promise.
Behold the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world, who takes away your sin.
This is also why we’ll spend
the Lenten midweek services hearing the proclamation of the cross in the
Scriptures and Small Catechism. Tonight the cross in the 10 commandments.
When we turn to the 10
commandments in the Catechism we hear these words: As the head of the
household should teach his family.
So fathers and husbands, this
is for you. This is your calling in your household. Teach your children. Lead
devotions. Read the Scriptures and Catechism with your family. Pray, praise,
and give thanks. And if you need help or don’t know where to start, I’m here to
teach you how.
Luther teaches us what Moses
teaches us in Deuteronomy 6:
“Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
You shall love
the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I
command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently
to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you
walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
Luther’s Small Catechism begins
with the 10 commandments for the same reason we confess our sins weekly in
service. Daily we die to sin. Daily we rise to new life in Christ.
The 10 commandments show us the
severity or our sin, and our need for a Savior. The Christian questions and
answers in the Small Catechism show us the same thing as we prepare for
communion.
1. Do you believe that you are a
sinner? Yes, I believe it. I am a sinner.
2. How do you know this? From
the Ten Commandments, which I have not kept.
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God’s Law isn’t the problem, we
are. “…fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he
is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering,
saying you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over
again from the ground floor – this is what repentance is. It means killing a
part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death…” (C.S.
Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 56-57).
Repent. For we have not feared,
loved, and trust in God above all things.
We have not hallowed his name
or called upon it in every trouble for prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.
We have not kept his Sabbath
day holy by finding rest solely in his Word.
We have not honored our father
and mother, or others in authority over us.
We have failed to help and
support our neighbor in every physical need.
We have not led a sexually pure
life in all we say and do. Husbands and wives have not loved and honored each
other.
We have failed to protect our
neighbor’s possessions and income. We’ve borne false witness against our
neighbors, coveted, and desired their husband, wife, or other possessions.
What does it take keep these
commands? Love. Love fulfills the Law.
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the
Law and the Prophets.”
And all of the commandments
we’ve broken hang on Jesus. Jesus takes the two tables of the Law that hang
around our neck like millstones, and places them onto his shoulders, and he is
crushed for our iniquities. It is love that fulfills the Law. But not our love.
God’s love for you in Christ. By his wounds you are healed. For the same God
who gave the 10 commandments also sent his Son to be born of a woman, to be
born under the Law to redeem us who are under the Law.
Jesus feared, loved and trusted
in the Father above all things…for you.
Jesus bore the Name of God and
called upon his Father’s name unceasingly…for you.
Jesus kept the Sabbath day holy
by his proclaiming God’s Word…for you
Jesus honored father and
mother…for you.
Jesus helped and supported his
neighbor in every need everywhere he traveled and taught...for you
Jesus yearned for your
salvation and so led a pure end decent life…for you.
Jesus forsook all earthly
possessions in order to buy you back from sin and death.
Jesus testifies to the Father
on your behalf with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and
death as the evidence that you are blameless and holy in Him.
Jesus only desire is to do the
Father’s will and to redeem you and bring you into his kingdom.
All of our commandment breaking
hangs on Jesus. Jesus’ love fulfills the Law for you. Jesus loves you, his
neighbor, by laying down his life for you. Jesus loves the Father by being
obedient unto death, even death on the cross for you.
Today the ashes point to our
repentance. But also to Jesus’ sacrifice for us; the cross proclaims your
redemption in Christ. And the cross is a fruit bearing tree. Jesus’ perfect
life exchanged for your sin. Jesus’ death exchanged for your life. Jesus’ holy
flesh to heal our sinful flesh. Jesus’ righteousness which covers our
transgressions. Jesus’ cross which marks our foreheads and hearts. You are
marked with the sign of Jesus’ redemption. Ashes, sin, and even death cannot
scrub out or dry up the waters of your baptism. You are marked as one redeemed
by Christ the crucified.
In the Name of the Father and
of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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