Turning Inward

PROPERS:          ASH WEDNESDAY, YEAR C        

TEXT:                MATTHEW 6:1-6, 16-21        

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S CHAPEL, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON ASH WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2022.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The season of Lent is an ancient opportunity to turn inward and examine one’s life.

 

            Today, as always when we gather, we are celebrating an ancient rite.

            However, today we are observing a practice that is in addition to the Pascal Feast.  The Eucharist, of course, is traced back to the first Passover in Egypt.  Today’s observance is tied closely to the practices of the early church. 

 

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            Membership in the early church was not casual.  Keep in mind that before 312 A.D., the church was considered a subversive and sometimes was a prohibited organization. Small cells of the church would gather in secret to practice the sacred rites which had been passed down.

 

            Membership was dangerous.

 

            Later, after being officially recognized by the Roman government, membership became more commonplace. But there were still exacting standards.

 

            Reading church history will tell you that there was a diversity of practices.  But there is a significant thread which runs through the history and practice of Lent.

 

            Of course, Lent is the symbolization of Jesus’ 40 days and nights in the Wilderness following his baptism. Scripture tells us he was driven there by the Spirit.  I will have more to say on that subject this Sunday.

 

            Jesus’ time in the Wilderness was his time of deep introspection, searching spirituality, and coming to terms with the mission before him.

 

            Lent became a time for people to turn – or return – more fully to God.  Through prayer.  Through study.  Through discipline.  Through self-denial.  It was a time set-aside for people wishing to enter the fellowship of the church, or to return to the fellowship of the church.

 

            Neither was simple.

 

            There was a group known as the Catechumens – the individuals who were studying to become full members of the church.  These were people awaiting baptism.  Their period of study might be as long as three years, but there was intense focus on that study during the church’s season of Lent.

 

            There was another group.  These were the people who had been disciplined – those who had failed to live up to the church’s standards.  Maybe they had been excommunicated.  But they were prohibited from coming to communion.  They sat apart from the people who were faithful, baptized members of the body.

 

            There were two sections of the service.  We know them as the Liturgy of the Word and the Holy Communion.  The ancient division was the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful.

 

            The first half of the service went through the general confession.  It included the scriptural readings, the homily, the creed, the prayers, and the confession.

 

            It was at that point that the catechumens and the penitents would be escorted out.  They went away to study the doctrine, teaching, and the practice of Christianity.  They were being prepared.

 

            For those who were already baptized and part of the faithful would continue in the service.  They would participate in the Holy Communion and receive the bread and wine – the sacramental body and blood of Jesus.

 

            The catechumens were being prepared for what would come 40 days later – the Easter Vigil. Before dawn on Easter Day, they would be baptized and become full members of the church.

 

            The penitents – those who had turned away from the church in some significant way – would be welcomed back into the fellowship at the Easter Vigil.

 

            It was a time of great celebration. 

 

            All this, of course, was in the ancient church – before the Body became hopelessly fractured by many schisms.

 

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            Our Lent is much simpler now. In many ways, it has become more individualized and optional.  But the purpose is the same.

 

            We are invited – in words that you will hear in a few moments – to turn inward…  examine ourselves… to reflect on the state of our souls… to seek to renew our relationships to God.

 

            The season of Lent is not so much about denial.  It means little to sacrifice chocolate, caffeine, or alcohol. It is about your relationship to God. And, if properly observed, you will have ample reason to celebrate on Easter Day.