Ash Wednesday is
tomorrow. Running through my mind are The Bachelorette, Joe
Millionaire, and My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé. I know that sounds like
a strange connection, but bear with me. It seems like the common theme
among these shows is that we all want to feel accepted and loved. And
we’ll do almost anything to make it happen. We put our best foot
forward, mind our manners, and stay on our best behavior. After all,
you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
It seems like grabbing
the brass ring is more diligence than luck. Clean yourself up, make a
good impression and then back it up!
I think God turns that
on its head. God loves and accepts us, in spite of the first
impression we make. In His grace, God comes to us and offers his love
and acceptance. He is greeted by His creation, marred by sin and
corrupted by evil. If it were simply a matter of impressions, God would’ve
been through with us a long time ago.
Jesus had a lot to say
about impressing God and impressing man. Notice what He says in this
reading from Matthew 6:
-
“Be
careful not to do your acts of righteousness before others, to be seen
by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in
heaven” (6:1).
-
“When
you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets” (6.2).
-
"When
you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray ... on
the street corners to be seen by men” (6.5).
-
“When
you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do” (6:16).
-
“When
you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not
be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father”
(6:17-18).
The impression that
matters is the one that Jesus makes. We should pray, we should fast,
but not in order to gain points with God.
If we do our “acts of righteousness” to gain points with God, we
will still end up with a deficit.
Ash Wednesday is a day
to remember where we stand – in need of God’s grace. We need him
to overlook the first impression we make. 2 Corinthians 8:9
says, ‘for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty
might become rich.”
Godspeed,
Pastor John
Mid-Week
Musings
An
Occasional bulletin from Christ United Methodist Church