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March 1, 2006 - Ash Wednesday

This last week
I've been seized by a frenzy of cleaning. Those of you that know me
know that being tidy
is not the highest priority in my life. But in the last few days
I've scrubbed the stove, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed the floors, and even finally got round to reinstalling the toilet roll holder that has been half-hanging off the wall for the last 6 months. The house is looking better than it has for a long time.

Part of it
is the annual urge to clean in Spring. I have no idea what that's about — I can't really imagine that back when people lived in caves, they swept and cleaned and so on every spring time, but you know, whenever I see those first purple buds of crocuses appear, and the spears of daffodil leaves poke up from the ground, I get seized by this uncontrollable urge
to make my home new.

But I also know
that part of the reason this desire has seized me so obsessively
is that because a friend is coming to stay.
And I want the house to be clean,
not all cluttered up with my junk
a place that is welcoming.
I want to make space
for my friend.

And in many ways
that's what the season of Lent
is all about.
Making space in our lives
for the one who is coming,
making a welcome place
for God.

The church has traditionally observed the season of Lent
as a time of preparation,
as we get ourselves ready
for the momentous events
of Holy Week
and Easter.
It echoes the forty days
that Jesus spent in the wilderness at the very beginning of his ministry,
the forty days
between that memorable day when he was baptized and the spirit of God descended on him and he heard the words, "This is my own dear son,
with whom I am well pleased,"
between that day, and the day
that he walked beside the lake and called out to two fishermen, "Hey you! Come follow me!"
Forty days
of hunger and quiet and prayer,
a space where he could connect with God,
forty days preparation for the ministry
that would end in his death.

And so we have these forty days of preparation
days
when we make space for God.
Because it's never easy
to keep that place of space for God
open in our lives.
It gets cluttered up with junk. Our busyness gets in the way.
There is so much else
going on.
And somehow, almost without us realizing it
God gets pushed in a corner
and maybe even
packed up in a box
and stored in the attic.

Lent reminds us
that we need to make space in our lives
for God.

And so instead of cleaning our houses — though with the advent of Spring, we might be doing that as well! — instead of cleaning our house, we are cleaning out our hearts and souls and lives. Scrubbing away the bits that have got kind of dirtied up, washing off a year's grime and dust, making minor repairs, cleaning away the trash.
Or to put it in traditional Christian terms, we are called to reflect on our lives, and be honest about the things that we have done that we ought not to have done, and the things we ought to have done
and have not. Our failures, our mistakes.
We repent of our sins
and we receive God's forgiveness.
But we also look at our lives
and try to find the things
that might get in the way
of our worshiping God
with our whole hearts
and minds
and souls
and strength.
Perhaps its bad habits of staying up late, so we don't have the energy to get up and out to church on a Sunday morning.
Maybe it's telling ourselves we don't have time to pray
when we easily waste an hour playing computer games.
Maybe it's categorizing things as essentials instead of luxuries — the fancy cup of coffee from the coffee shop, the chocolate, the restaurant meal — and then saying that we don't have enough money to give to God or to those in need.

Lent is a time
to be honest about all this
and then deal with it
as best we can. It's not so much about what we deny ourselves
as what we offer to others — including
to God.

And of course,
it's not something that other people are going to praise us for. It's one thing to make a big deal out of not eating chocolate for six weeks. We all understand about self-denial - that's the whole point of diets. It's another thing
to say, you know, I might be a little late for Sunday brunch — I have a prior commitment.
People tend
to have a tough time
when the reason we are doing something
is to make space for God.

That's probably why Jesus said what he did
about not making a big show
of your prayers and your piety.
Because this isn't first and foremost, about us. It's about God.
Spring cleaning our lives
to make space
for God.

It takes discipline. It can be hard work. But it also brings blessing.
Because the reality is
that God does bless us
when we make this kind of space.
We discover real intimacy, the presence of God
that shapes not just the few extra minutes that we've found
but the whole of the rest of our lives.
There's a kind of wonder
in the quietness,
a joy
in the small acts of obedience and generosity,
a thankfulness
for all God has given us
and all that God offers us
day by day.

Sermon ©Raewynne J. Whiteley 2006