“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. … Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, In an acceptable time, I heard you, and on the day of salvation, I helped you.
Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 5:21–6:2).
BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY
We hear these words in the Second Reading at Mass every year on Ash Wednesday. Along with the First Reading from Joel (2:12–18), Psalm 51, and Matthew’s Gospel (6:1–16, 16–18), each and every year as we enter the season of Lent, we hear the same readings. Do we hear the same message every year? That may depend on our individual circumstances and also on the homilist or preacher.
Have you ever spent time with the Ash Wednesday Readings in the days leading up to the start of Lent? For those who have, I would guess that you would agree that it is a wonderful preparation for Lent. For those who have not: there’s no time like the present. Or, in St. Paul’s words, “now is the acceptable time.”
In a spirit of invitation (to pray with these readings), dialogue (we can compare notes), and preparation (to enter into Lent), I would like to share a few thoughts on each of the Ash Wednesday Readings.
“…Rend your hearts, not your garments and return to the Lord, your God” (Jl 2:12–18). The Book of the Prophet Joel is brief and somewhat obscure, but the words and message that we hear in the First Reading on Ash Wednesday have the power to speak directly to our hearts and inspire us to act. “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. In these words are two very important Lenten themes: First, “Do something! Take some action (fasting) to show God that you/we are sorry and do so at the level of the heart. What we do on the outside must come from what is happening on the inside. Secondly, it is important that we fast and ask God’s forgiveness, not only as individuals, but as a community. Do we appreciate how our Lenten practices and observances need to be both individual decisions and communal observances? In these days of political and other division in our country and also within the Church, we can be encouraged that our Lenten observances could bring blessings to us as individuals, families and communities, especially as we reflect on the last words of the reading, “Then the Lord was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.”
Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.” For those who are not familiar with Psalm 51, I strongly encourage you to find it in your Bible or “Google” it and, more than just reading it, pray with it, spend time with it, listen to it and feel it. Attributed to David after he had committed terrible sins and been reprimanded by God, Psalm 51 is his prayer of repentance. If you are looking to something to do for Lent, I would suggest praying with Psalm 51 every day. It is a beautiful preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and it also can help us to know and trust in God’s mercy.
I have already mentioned Ash Wednesday’s second reading (2 Cor 5:21–6:2) and Paul’s exhortation, “On behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Again, I will mention two Lenten themes: First is Reconciliation. Next week I will write about our diocesan “Welcome Home to Healing” initiative, which encourages and makes widely available the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). I have found that the Sacrament of Reconciliation may be the most misunderstood and under-appreciated of all the seven Sacraments, but more on that next week. The second important Lenten theme in our second reading is, now. “Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.” In this past year, experiencing a global pandemic, we have once again been reminded how fragile life is. Every day is a gift from God; yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come. There are many ways to say it, but Lent reminds us of something that we are called to live every day: to treasure each day and try to make the most of it, to know and do God’s will, to love God and our neighbor and, aware of our sinfulness and failings, to strive to be closer to and reconciled with God each and every day.
In the Ash Wednesday Gospel (Mt. 6:1–16, 16–18), we here Jesus speak of the three traditional Lenten practices: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It always strikes me that, on the one day when everyone can see who has been to Church (by the ashes on our forehead), we hear Jesus say, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them …” But those words of Jesus can also remind us of why we receive ashes — not because we want everyone to know that we’ve been to Church, but as an exterior sign of what (hopefully) is our interior disposition.
There is much more that could be said about the Ash Wednesday Gospel, but I will offer one final thought or suggestion. We should listen even more closely when Jesus is trying to get our attention and speak to us personally. In this Gospel, Jesus repeats three times: “Amen, I say to you …” Whether it’s prayer, fasting, or almsgiving (sacrificial generosity), Jesus wants us to know that “it’s not only what we do, but how we do it” that matters.
So as we look forward to and prepare for Lent, let us think about what we will do and how we will do it, hearing Jesus encouraging us and telling us (three times), “And your father who sees in secret will repay you.”