Category Archives: ash wednesday

Ash Wednesday 2020

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Isaiah 58:1-12

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

As we enter into the season of Lent many will sacrifice and deny themselves of something they like. This we often do with an expectation that this is pleasing to GOD. How tragic it would be to sacrifice the things we like and love, only to end up further from GOD than when we began. In our text from Isaiah 58:1-12, we get a look at what true sacrifice and fasting are all about.

Daily we go through life and through the hustle and bustle we become oblivious to the parts of our lives that are dull and no longer effective. In some ways, through neglect and lack of attention to spiritual detail, we go through the motions of spirituality without the message of the Messiah. The text begins with the words “Shout it Aloud”. A shout is intended to get the attention of the listener. A shout lets us know something deserves our immediate attention. Failure to listen or to ignore the shout could lead to negative consequences. Shout it aloud like a trumpet that GOD’s people are in rebellion. They have grown fond of the form while turning their back on the function.

How often are we like the original hearers of this text? How often do we go to church, or say our prayers, and after we are done, we are done. We get off our knees and back on our feet, yet we carry nothing with us from the experience. We know we should pray so we do it. We know we should say we love people so we say it. We do and say what we think is supposed to be done and said but we are not truly reflecting a life of relationship with GOD. The Prophet shouts to get our attention. What good is it to fast and while doing it you fuss and fight? What good is it to fast and in the midst of it mistreat others? We have an opportunity through fasting to be transformed and make a real difference in the lives of others. The text continues on to say, “we cannot do as we have been doing and expect to be heard by the Divine. I get that.

This Ash Wednesday and throughout this Lenten season I encourage each of us to not only take something away from our lives but to also add opportunities to bless others. When we open our eyes we will see many in our world who are hurting and hungry and locked in emotional chains that cause them to downsize their destiny. There are many opportunities to open up our hearts and homes for those who are physically and emotionally homeless. We will have countless opportunities to be a blessing to others. The Isaiah text lets us know that as we are open to bless others we make room for GOD to bless us. The awesome thing about GOD that I have encountered is even when we think we have nothing left to offer, in our weakness GOD is strong. This Lenten season let us clean out the debris that has accumulated over the year that makes us dull to the cries of others. Let us look for opportunities to bless others. And most of all let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we will reap a harvest of unlimited blessings, we will be a light that shines in the darkness, when we do not quit.

Ash Wednesday 2019

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Day 1

Today begins the Holy Season of Lent. Many will choose to “give up” something. I invite you to look beyond simply giving up something and focus on adding the capacity to maximize your spiritual gifts and Live In Victory Every Day.  Make room for something life-changing.

Today’s scripture is Psalm 51

Psalm 51[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

 

In this text, the writer David expresses deep sorrow for his past transgressions. I am reminded of my car this Midwest winter. After all the salt has been poured to clear the roadways, my car has taken a beating. It has accumulated a layer of dirt and grime. Underneath the dirt, the shine remains, but what people see is the dirt. So it is with sin. We can still be moving and living life but sin leaves a film on us. The world begins to see all the dirt. David recognizes he needs cleansing.

The season of Lent is like a car wash. Many of us live through the year and have accumulated some dirt. Lent gives us an opportunity to go through a cleansing process so the shine within can come out. Join me on this journey of consecration and in 40 days I pray we will all shine brighter than ever before. Be Blessed

Point to Ponder: How open am I to changes in my life? Am I open to doing a time of consecration that may be uncomfortable? If living your best life requires leaving our comfort zone, am I ready and is it worth it?

Lent 2018 Daily Scripture Reading

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Ash Wednesday 2018 Scriptures

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Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming, it is near-

2:2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.

2:12 Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

2:13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.

2:14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God?

2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly;

2:16 gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy.

2:17 Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep. Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD, and do not make your heritage a mockery, a byword among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'”

Isaiah 58:1-12
58:1 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins.

58:2 Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God.

58:3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.

58:4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.

58:5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

58:6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

58:7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

58:9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,

58:10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.

58:12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

Psalm 51:1-17
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

51:4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

51:5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

51:6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

51:11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

51:13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

51:14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

51:15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

51:16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

51:17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
5:20b We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

6:1 As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.

6:2 For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!

6:3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry,

6:4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,

6:5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;

6:6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love,

6:7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;

6:8 in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;

6:9 as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see–we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed;

6:10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
6:1 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

6:2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

6:3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

6:4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

6:5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

6:16 “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.

6:17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

6:18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal;

6:20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.

6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Daily Scripture Readings Lent 2017

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lent-2017March 1 to April 8, 2017

These readings are adapted from The Book of Common Prayer, Daily Readings for Year One.

Date Psalm OT Epistle Gospel
Wed
Mar 1		 am: 95, 32, 143
pm: 102, 130		 Jon 3:1-4:11 Heb 12:1-14 Luke 18:9-14
Thur
Mar 2		 am: 37:1-18
pm: 37:19-42		 Deut 7:6-11 Titus 1:1-16 John 1:29-34
Fri
Mar 3		 am: 95, 31
pm: 35		 Deut 7:12-16 Titus 2:1-15 John 1:35-42
Sat
Mar 4		 am: 30, 32
pm: 42, 43		 Deut 7:17-26 Titus 3:1-15 John 1:43-51
Sun 1
Mar 5		 am: 63, 98
pm: 103		 Deut 8:1-10 1 Cor 1:17-31 Mark 2:18-22
Mon
Mar 6		 am: 41, 52
pm: 44		 Deut 8:11-18 Heb 2:11-18 John 2:1-12
Tues
Mar 7		 am: 45
pm: 47, 48		 Deut 9:4-12 Heb 3:1-11 John 2:13-22
Wed
Mar 8		 am: 119:49-72
pm: 49, 53		 Deut 9:13-21 Heb 3:12-19 John 2:23-3:15
Thur
Mar 8		 am:  50, 59, 60
pm:  19, 46		 Deut 9:23-10:5 Heb 4:1-10 John 3:16-21
Fri
Mar 10		 am: 40, 54
pm: 51		 Deut 10:12-22 Heb 4:11-16 John 3:22-36
Sat
Mar 11		 am: 55
pm: 138, 139		 Deut 11:18-28 Heb 5:1-10 John 4:1-26
Sun 2
Mar 12		 am: 24, 29
pm: 8, 84		 Jere 1:1-10 1 Cor 3:11-23 Mark 3:31-4:9
Mon
Mar 13		 am: 56, 57, 58
pm: 64, 65		 Jere 1:11-19 Rom 1:1-15 John 4:27-42
Tues
Mar 14		 am: 61, 62
pm: 68		 Jere 2:1-13 Rom 1:16-25 John 4:43-54
Wed
Mar 15		 am: 72
pm: 119:73-96		 Jere 3:6-18 Rom 1:28-2:11 John 5:1-18
Thur
Mar 16		 am: 70, 71
pm: 74		 Jere 4:9-10, 19-28 Rom 2:12-24 John 5:19-29
Fri
Mar 17		 am: 69
pm: 73		 Jere 5:1-9 Rom 2:25-3:18 John 5:30-47
Sat
Mar 18		 am: 75, 76
pm: 23, 27		 Jere 5:20-31 Rom 3:19-31 John 7:1-13
Sun 3
Mar 19		 am: 93, 96
pm: 34		 Jere 6:9-15 1 Cor 6:12-20 Mark 5:1-20
Mon
Mar 20		 am: 80
pm: 77, 79		 Jere 7:1-15 Rom 4:1-12 John 7:14-36
Tue
Mar 21		 am: 78:1-39
pm: 78:40-72		 Jere 7:21-34 Rom 4:13-25 John 7:37-52
Wed
Mar 22		 am: 119:97-120
pm: 81, 82		 Jere 8:18-9:6 Rom 5:1-11 John 8:12-20
Thur
Mar 23		 am: 42, 43
pm: 85, 86		 Jere 10:11-24 Rom 5:12-21 John 8:21-32
Fri
Mar 24		 am: 88
pm: 91, 92		 Jere 11:1-8, 14-20 Rom 6:1-11 John 8:33-47
Sat
Mar 25		 am: 87, 90
pm: 136		 Jere 13:1-11 Rom 6:12-23 John 8:47-59
Sun 4
Mar 26		 am: 66, 67
pm: 19, 46		 Jere 14:1-9, 17-22 Gal 4:21-5:1 Mark 8:11-21
Mon
Mar 27		 am: 89:1-18
pm: 89:19-52		 Jere 16:10-21 Rom 7:1-12 John 6:1-15
Tue
Mar 28		 am: 97, 99, 100
pm: 94, 95		 Jere 17:19-27 Rom 7:13-25 John 6:16-27
Wed
Mar 29		 am: 101, 109
pm: 119:121-144		 Jere 18:1-11 Rom 8:1-11 John 6:27-40
Thur
Mar 30		 am: 69
pm: 73		 Jere 22:13-23 Rom 8:12-27 John 6:41-51
Fri
Mar 31		 am: 107:1-32
pm: 107:33-43		 Jere 23:1-8 Rom 8:28-39 John 6:52-59
Sat
Aor 1		 am:  102, 108
pm: 33		 Jere 23:9-15 Rom 9:1-18 John 6:60-71
Sun 5
Apr 2		 am: 118
pm: 145		 Jere 23:16-32 1 Cor 9:19-27 Mark 8:31-9:1
Mon
Apr 3		 am: 31
pm: 35		 Jere 24:1-10 Rom 9:19-33 John 9:1-17
Tues
Apr 4		 am:121,122,123
pm: 124, 125, 126		 Jere 25:8-17 Rom 10:1-13 John 9:18-41
Wed
Apr 5		 am:119:145-176
pm: 128, 129, 130		 Jere 25:30-38 Rom 10:14-21 John 10:1-18
Thur
Apr 6		 am: 131, 132, 133
pm: 140, 142		 Jere 26:1-16 Rom 11:1-12 John 10:19-42
Fri
Apr 7		 am: 22
pm: 141, 143		 Jere 29:1, 4-13 Rom 11:13-24 John 11:1-27 or 12:1-10
Sat
Apr 8		 am: 137, 144
pm: 42, 43		 Jere 31:27-34 Rom 11:25-36 John 11:28-44 or 12:37-50

Ash Wednesday A True Fast

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Isaiah 58:1-12

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
    Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
    and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

As we enter into the season of Lent many will sacrifice and deny themselves of something they like.This we often do with an expectation that this is pleasing to GOD. How tragic it would be to sacrifice the things we like and love, only to end up further from GOD than when we began. In our text from Isaiah 58:1-12, we get a look at what true sacrifice and fasting are all about.

Daily we go through life and through the hustle and bustle we become oblivious to the parts of our lives that are dull and no longer effective. In some ways through neglect and lack of attention to spiritual detail we go through the motions of spirituality without the message of the Messiah. The text begins with the words “Shout it Aloud”. A shout is intended to get the attention of the listener. A shout lets us know something deserves our immediate attention. Failure to listen or to ignore the shout could lead to negative consequences. Shout it aloud like a trumpet that GOD’s people are in rebellion. They have grown fond of the form while turning their back on the function.

How often are we like the original hearers of this text? How often do we go to church, or say our prayers, and after we are done, we are done. We get off our knees and back on our feet, yet we carry nothing with us from the experience. We know we should pray so we do it. We know we should say we love people so we say it. We do and say what we think is supposed to be done and said but we are not truly reflecting a life of relationship with GOD. The Prophet shouts to get our attention. What good is it to fast and while doing it you fuss and fight? What good is it to fast and in the midst of it mistreat others? We have an opportunity through fasting to be transformed and make a real difference in the lives of others. The text continues on to say, “we cannot do as we have been doing and expect to be heard by the Divine. I get that.

This Ash Wednesday and throughout this Lenten season I encourage each of us to not only take something away from our lives but to also add opportunities to bless others. When we open our eyes we will see many in our world who are hurting and hungry and locked in emotional chains that cause them to downsize their destiny. There are many opportunities to open up our hearts and homes for those who are physically and emotionally homeless. We will have countless opportunities to be a blessing to others. The Isaiah text lets us know that as we are open to bless others we make room for GOD to bless us. The awesome thing about GOD that I have encountered is even when we think we have nothing left to offer, in our weakness GOD is strong. This Lenten season let us clean out the debris that has accumulated over the year that makes us dull to the cries of others. Let us look for opportunities to bless others. And most of all let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we will reap a harvest of unlimited blessings, we will be a light that shines in darkness, If we do not quit.