How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”Heb: 9:14
The season that we are now in, the Lenten season, originally
started in the early centuries as a time of preparation for baptism. During
this period of preparation for immersion into the Christian life, the new
converts would spend time in prayer, Scripture reading, reflection and
mediation all in preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism, which during the
late Apostolic and post-Apostolic periods baptism were generally held once a
year, usually on Easter Sunday.
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday with a reminder of the
truth that all will die. We all suffer from the fact that we are mortal and
will, in the end face death; to pass out of waking knowledge and be forgotten. Death
is the one great equalizers of all humanity it brings low even great Kings and
commoners, all of us alike, rich, poor, free or bond.
The Lenten seasons begins on Ash Wednesday with a
reminder of the truth that all will die. That all of us will become ashes and
dust due to the sin that pervades all humanity. It is in many ways a solemn
occasion for us to face death, to see it in the distance knowing that it is
unavoidable, to be confronted with our own frailties and mortality.
“Cursed is the ground
because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of
your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the
plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you
return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust
you will return.” Gen: 3:17b-19
Death would be the end results of all of our existence, if not however, for the Great love of our God.
Who has acted on our
behalf thru his Son Jesus Christ. Knowing this, that our Lord has acted for us should
cast out dread and fear.
Ash Wednesday also confronts us with our sins which
have resulted in our following the choice of Adam which has brought upon
humanity all the suffering down thru the ages.
“Therefore, just as sin
entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death
came to all people, because all sinned—To be sure, sin was in the world before
the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there
is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of
Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who
is a pattern of the one to come” Rm:5:12-14
Ashes
Christians, who are part of more liturgical
fellowships may receive the sign of the cross smudged upon their forehead with
ashes.
The smudge of the cross upon their foreheads has simultaneous
multiple meanings; as stated already it tells us that we are helpless in
preventing our own demise; we will be dust and ashes.
Ash Wednesday also reminds us that we as humans have a
fickle nature in our relationship to our God, this is symbolized, again by the
ashes, for the ashes are produced by burning the palm beaches from the previous
year’s Palm Sunday observances; representing how we, like the citizens of
Jerusalem, might greet Jesus with gladness and shout joyfully at the prospect
of receiving his blessings , yet when Jesus does not
provide according to our anticipation or act as we believe he should we turn upon him and view him with contempt
and scorn as many of the people of Jerusalem did when he road in to that city.
Many person in the crowd who lined the streets of the
city and followed Jesus’ procession and waved the palm branches and shouted “Hosanna!” on that Sunday were the same
ones who on Friday cried for his blood and demanded crucifixion as Jesus stood
before Pontius Pilate there at the Pavement of Judgment. They were fickle, and
so are we all.
“A very large crowd spread
their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread
them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed
shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of
David!”
“Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest
heaven!” Matt: 21:8-9
“But the chief priests and
the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus
executed. “Which of the two do you want
me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they
answered. “What shall I do, then, with
Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify
him!” “Why? What crime has he
committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” When
Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead uproar was starting,
he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of
this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered,
“His blood is on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them.
But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified”. Matt: 27:20-26
Whether we would like to admit it or not, we all have, at one time or another have
stood in that crowd.
Hope
in the Ashes
Yet, the burned ashes which starkly proclaim our
sinful state that leads us to death also are smudged in the sign of the cross,
this proclaims to us that our Lord Jesus and his death upon the cross is the
solution and answer to our human condition both of sin and mortality.
Jesus has died on the cross to deal with sin once and
for all. That we might be holy.
“And by that will, we
have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again
and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But
when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be
made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who
are being made holy.” Heb:
10:11-14
Thru Jesus we are not just forgiven our individual
sins but all the more, we are forgiven of who we are (or were) in Adam and are now able to experience all that Jesus has
accomplished for us.
“But the gift is not like
the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much
more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus
Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the
result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought
condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how
much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the
gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Consequently, just as one
trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act
resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the
disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the
obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
The law was brought in so
that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all
the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign
through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Rm:5:15-21
Cross
on the Mind
The sign of the cross upon the forehead also declares
the answer to our human issue of sin. The forehead is the seat of our thinking,
our minds. The cross upon the forehead represent the renewing of our whole mind,
a complete reorientation of thought all focused upon Jesus and the cleansing
work of his blood shed for each and all and reflects a mind led by the Holy Spirit.
We no longer think like the world, rather begin to have the mind of Jesus
Christ.
“Do not conform to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be
able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect
will” Rm: 12:2
As the power of blood of the cross of Jesus works in
our lives even the sinful thought are .expunged from us, we are set free from
the burden of past and all sins well, we can begin to live with a clear un
obscured view of Jesus unencumbered with a fear that we “are not good enough”. We can serve our Lord at peace with him and ourselves
for we have been saved by grace.
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”Heb: 9:14
We are now free to live the holy life he has provided for us.
We can focus on Jesus, as our Lord who through his sacrifice
given for us that we might live for eternity in fellowship and worship of the
great God.
The Lenten season gives to each of us yearly a time
for us focus upon Jesus and all that he has set us free from and how we might
live the Christian life in light of that freedom all provided by that one who
has taken us from ashes to life. Amen
Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor
The
Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike.
2101 Old National Pike.
Washington,
Pennsylvania. www.gcfountainoflife.org
The
Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in
Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area
of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela,
Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.comYou can follow the Fountain of Life on Face Book - Click on our Face Book link under our Helpful Links
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