My dear sisters and brothers in the Lord,
It has become commonplace in many different ways for us to be reminded, perhaps encouraged, even challenged, to take care of our good health. For it is a blessing that my mother always told me, money cannot buy. So we’re reminded to watch what we eat, to eat good, and host some food to moderate the amount that we eat. To cut back on our sugars, not to drink too much alcohol . We’re told to rest so that we could live the blessings of this life as much as possible, for it is a gift from God.
And so it is not uncommon, I think, that we run into people who are living wonderful lives in their 80s and 90s. And at Christ the King Parish two weeks ago I had a woman come up to me in spitting health at a 105 years old.
And yet for all our best efforts, today we’re reminded of a basic truth; when you come forward, you may hear the words: remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return. For as great as the blessing is of this human life, it cannot last forever. And today the Church reminds us of that, and asks us to consider a very important point. That for all the effort we make in keeping this human life healthy and strong, to receive its benefits and to enjoy its fruits, why is it that many times we forget to invest the same energy in a life promised us that will not last a hundred years, it will last forever?
For the simple truth is, as we begin this Lenten Journey, you and I together, is that we have not taken care of that spiritual health that will one day, with God’s Grace, lead(s) us to eternal life. At times we’ve taken it for granted. At times we have actually worked against it. For each time you and I have sinned, then we are hurting that spiritual life that is destined for eternal life.
So we claim to want to be with God and act as if something else is more important. So lent is this time of honest, brutal honesty, when we look ourselves in the mirror and we admit the fact that we have all sinned, perhaps at times seriously. And we come to the Lord being reminded that we will be ash one day. And on that day, present to Him the fullness of this life. And we come to Him seeking His mercy. For there’s not a sin God will not
forgive, if only we are sorry for them.
And He will grant us the grace and power of His holy spirit so that we can continue the journey of our lives and grow in health of spirit and soul, so that when we enter the mystery of death you and I may have a life offer to Him, that He will bless with everlasting glory.
And so just as the disciplines that we observe in our earthly life to keep healthy, so too there are disciplines in the spiritual life. And so on lent we’re reminded what are they prayer each day from the heart, food for the spirit and soul. There is nobody in this Church too busy not to be able to set time aside to pray, to speak with our Lord, and more
importantly to let Him speak to us. For that is food for the spirit.
And we are reminded that in this search for spiritual health. We are too fast; fast from the things that do not matter, fast from the things that in their equivalent value we can give to those who do not have. For a journey to eternal life is not just mine, it’s ours together. And so we are also reminded that in our journey of life, and in lent in particular, you and I are to are asked to give alms, which means to make our love real for the sick, the poor, the needy, the lonely, the discouraged, the unemployed, the immigrant, the refugee; whoever in our midst is in need.
And sometimes, my dear friends, the person in greatest need is the person who is sitting across from us at our own kitchen table. These disciplines, my friends, have existed in the church from the apostles. And we’re reminded as we begin this lenten journey that they are for you and me to take seriously. For what would we have gained if we lay it led a long healthy joyful human life, joyful in terms of what the world promises us. And when we enter into the mystery of death, we will have nothing to offer the Lord. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; those words are the last earthly words spoken over many a person, who having died, is interred and buried in the soil of this earth.
today we are reminded, my friends, on Ash Wednesday that they are not meant to be the last words you and I hear; but rather, walking the spiritual journey, asking for the forgiveness of the Lord, seeking the power and Grace of the holy spirit. Let us pray that the last words we hear in this life will be the first words we hear in eternal life, when our Lord will look into our face with love and say ‘come good and faithful servant, receive the place I have reserved for you from the foundation of the world.’
