Create and Make in Us New and Contrite Hearts

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Lord, give us eyes to see and ears to hear, that we may learn Your Word together as a family. We give You all praise and honor and glory, in Jesus’ holy Name. Amen.

Encouragers, tonight we begin again.

The Church does not allow us to drift into Lent…… She brings us here with intention…… She places ashes upon our foreheads…… She puts Psalm 51 upon our lips…… She gives us the Collect we have just prayed: “Create and make in us new and contrite hearts.”

Ash Wednesday is honest, and that honesty begins with the words, “Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.”

This is not meant to scare us, but to remind us of mercy. Until we remember what we are, we cannot understand what Christ has done for us.

Last Sunday, we stood at the edge of Lent. We heard the blind man cry out, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.” We said, “Do not first ask, ‘What will I give up? ’” Ask, Lord, let me see.”

Ash Wednesday answers that prayer…… Tonight, the Lord lets us see our mortality…… He lets us see our sin…… He lets us see our need…… He lets us see His mercy.

Our Collect says that God hates nothing He has made…… God doesn’t despise His creation. He doesn’t despise the body. He doesn’t despise the dust from which we were formed.

Dust is not the problem. Sin is.

Ashes remind us that we are creatures…… We are finite…… We are accountable. The One who formed us from dust has not abandoned us.

In Genesis, the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. On this day, we confess that through sin we return toward dust.

The same God still breathes mercy. The ashes declare that we belong to the God who raises the dead.

The Penitential Office began with Psalm 51. “Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness.”

Notice that it doesn’t say, have mercy because I have improved…… It doesn’t say, have mercy because I am sincere…… It says, have mercy after thy great goodness.

Repentance is not about self-improvement. It’s a turning back to God’s mercy.

In our Old Testament lesson, Joel spoke plainly. “Rend your heart, and not your garments.” Outward signs without inward contrition are of no avail. The ashes upon the forehead mean nothing if the heart remains hard.

The Church does not give us ashes as some sort of mystical exercise. She gives them as a sign that directs us inward. As the Collect prays, “God, create in us new and contrite hearts.”

That word matters…….Create.

We can’t produce a contrite heart…… We can’t generate sorrow for sin…… True contrition is the work of grace…… Even our repentance is given to us.

Our Lord warns us in Saint Matthew’s Gospel about fasting for appearance’s sake. “When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance. They disfigure their faces to be seen of men.”

Christ says, “…when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face.” The discipline of Lent concerns the heart before the Father, who “seeth in secret.”

If you give something up this Lent, give it up for the Lord…… If you take on a discipline, take it on before the Lord…… If you fast, fast unto Him…… If you pray, pray unto Him…… If you give alms, give because you have received mercy.

This past Sunday, Saint Paul reminded us that without charity, we are nothing. And the words we heard then guide us now. The Lord, who is our Shepherd, will not leave us blind.

Tonight, He shows us the truth about ourselves. He shows it so that we may turn and live.

The blind man cried out, and Jesus stopped. The penitent heart cries out, and Christ hears. He still asks, “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?”

The Church teaches us to answer, “Lord, create in me a clean heart.”

Lent is a season of return.

The Church calls it Holy Lent. It is holy because we turn again to God.

Anglican teaching on Lent is clear. Self-examination. Repentance. Prayer. Fasting. Almsgiving. Meditation upon God’s Word. We don’t do these to earn grace. We practice this because they predispose us to receive it.

This is the life of Christian warfare. Discipline belongs to that life, but discipline without charity……without Love…… becomes empty. Charity gives life to that discipline.

So, my fellow Encouragers, do not enter Lent with fear. Enter it with clarity.

Remember that you are dust…… Remember that you are a sinner.….. Remember that you are baptized…… Remember that Christ goes up to Jerusalem for you.

The ashes speak of mortality. The Cross speaks of redemption.

When you kneel to receive your ashes, hear the truth. You are dust.

Hear also the promise. You belong to the Lord who raises the dead.

The One who formed you from dust will raise you. The One who calls you to repentance gives grace to repent. The One who commands charity pours it into the heart by the Holy Ghost.

We prayed on Sunday that the Holy Ghost would pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity. Tonight, we begin that work.

Offer yourself. Receive His mercy.

Walk toward Jerusalem with sight restored. See the Crucified. Trust the Risen Lord. Follow Him faithfully into Lent and into life everlasting.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.