Grace, Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The sermon series for our Lenten Midweek services is based on the theme, “For Us,” which was developed by the Rev. Todd Peperkorn, professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Forth Wayne, Indiana.
Let us Pray:
May the Words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
—
As we begin this Lenten journey, we do so, as always, through the lens of the love of God, which is ours through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
So, during our Midweek Lenten services, beginning today on Ash Wednesday, we will be meditating on the ancient Christian hymn from the 5th Century A.D. entitled, “O Love, How Deep.”
Hymns are the prayers of the church, the confession of the church’s faith. The Latin Church fathers said it this way: “lex orandi, lex credendi,” which means “the law of prayer is the law of belief.” Or we can say it this way: as the church prays (and sings), so the church believes.
So hymns which are Biblically and theologically sound ground us in the one true faith and spur us on to deeper meditation of the great truth of God’s Word. They are not shallow fluff. Not seven words eleven times. Not popular emotional love songs written to Jesus. Rather, they are timeless, deep confessions of the transcendent truth — the ONE TRUE FAITH.
My mother reminded of this many years ago when she told me something like this: I don’t really remember the books or Bible studies or even the sermons, no matter how good they are…but I remember the liturgy. I remember the hymns. And I carry them with me, always.
Hymns then, like this ancient hymn passed down through the centuries, are an aid to help us reflect upon what the love of God really is and how it is that we poor sinners can actually grab hold of such a big and amazing thing as the love of God.
So let’s look back at the first verse of our series hymn, which is the guide for our meditation this evening. I’ll read it and if you’d like you can follow along in your bulletin.
1. O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake!
So part of the challenge in meditating on these words is that they require self-examination. What the hymn confesses about the love of God requires first that we understand ourselves, that we look at and consider our own sin and unworthiness. That’s what this ashen cross on your forehead is all about.
And that’s what happens when you read the 10 Commandments and recite God’s Law, not as the proud Pharisee who tells God what a good person he is, but rather as the broken tax collector who cries out, “God have mercy on me, a sinner.”
In the Gospel for today, Jesus exhorts the disciples and the gathered crowds not to practice their righteousness in front of others, parading it like the hypocrites…aka, the Pharisees do… “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” He says (Matthew 6:3). And don’t let your prayers become an excuse to show off how good a Christian you are.
That’s hard, though, isn’t it? I mean, I want to get credit for all the work that I do. And how can I get credit if no one knows about it? So, when I do something good, what I want is some acknowledgment. Maybe not a parade…maybe… but at least some recognition that I’ve done a good thing.
But on Ash Wednesday, we remember that all of our good works, the parade of so called righteousness in our lives, leads nowhere except to grave. Think back to these words which I spoke to each of you a few moments ago: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (LSB Altar Book, p. 483).
When you hear those words, you are reminded whatever works you do, and however hard you try to preserve your life and legacy…you’re still going to die.” There’s another Latin phrase for that “Memento Mori.” Remember you will die.
That’s a sort of slap in the face, isn’t it? — It’s a wakeup call — to remind you not to embrace pride. What is there to be proud of? You are dust and to dust you shall return.
Neither should you waste your life on frivolous things. Because this world is passing away. So why would you give yourself to serve the dust? Why would you invest yourself and your brief life here to try to gain or keep things that have no enduring, eternal value. Remember you are dust. Memento Mori!
There’s a certain depressing quality to all this…but we need that depressing reality. We need to examine ourselves and see the truth before we can we comprehend, even in a small way, the great love of God in Christ.
Because when we truly examine ourselves…when we honestly appraise ourselves…and when we do so in the light of God’s perfection, we are put in our place. Every time you set yourself up in comparison with Jesus, you will lose. He is perfect, and you are dust. He is what our human family was made for…He alone reflects the image of God….while we poor sinners have rejected the image of God by our sin.
As Pontius Pilate declared, Behold the MAN. Jesus is the man…the one we must behold to truly see our own brokenness and corruption.
But then the hymn goes on to say that Jesus took on “our mortal form for mortals’ sake.” Stop and think about that. The one who is perfect God and perfect man; He who is the way and the truth and the life, LIFE! took on mortality. Mortality means, he can die. By his nature he cannot die. But He took on our curse and faced death. How can the author of life be subject to death? Why would He face this, submit to it? Love.
You see, the love of God is not like a math equation. It isn’t just something we can act like we understand. I love sunsets, so I understand the love of God.
No you don’t.
No, the love of God is higher, broader, and deeper than we can ever imagine. It is, as the hymn says, “beyond all thought and fantasy.” The love of God is the very thing behind the word mystery. Which in Latin is translated Sacramentum…the Sacrament. Here is the love of God. It is a mystery. And the more you know about it, the more aware you are that you know nothing about it all.
The mystery of the love of God penetrates to the very heart of the Christian faith. It is what defines and sets apart the one true faith. It shapes us as a people. It inspires us and moves us forward.
But it cannot finally be understood. Because it is ever growing and penetrating into the depths of the sinners corrupt heart. The love of God is always moving toward you. Toward the sinner. Growing nearer to the heart of the corruption that has turned you away from your maker. It goes there to the deepest darkness. And it forgives sin and grants life and salvation where there was only death, and condemnation.
So you see, we could run around and parade our good works, and try to convince ourselves and others that we are worthy of God’s love. But that’s just narcissism. That’s just wandering around in circles, focusing on ourselves. Not even prayers, fasting or acts of piety will bring us closer to God. They can’t! Because you are dust and to dust you will return. You are children of the curse.
And only one thing can save you. The mystery of the love of God in Christ.
So comes this day – Ash Wednesday -and the call to repent of your sins. And dear Christians don’t let the dust and ash on your forehead be a sign of your piety or self-righteousness. Rather, let them be a sign of the death that you have inherited as child of Adam, as a member of our human family, apart from Christ. Ash and dust is a sign of what we deserve.
And like ash, which does not wipe off easily, the more you try to rub out your sins on your own, the dirtier and messier they and you become.
But God, who is rich in mercy, sent His Son, Jesus, to the cross to die for your sins and rise again so that you would have life. It is a mystery beyond all comprehension. It is a treasure beyond price. It is a gift that can only come by grace. And it is here for you.
So Come this day to the Table of our Lord. For here you will not eat the fruit of the curse, but the true body and blood of your Savior, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins.
Here you take and eat, you taste and see that the Lord is Good. And you are drawn into the very life of God for you. It is indeed a mystery, a mystery that is beyond all thought and fantasy. It is Christ for you to forgive you and give you life.
For God has taken on your mortal form, even dying, so that you will live before him in righteous and purity forever.
Today He gives you His life. His works and not your own are on parade. He gives you His very self to save you and sustain you. All this He does for us. For you.
In the name of Jesus,
Amen.