Ash Wednesday Meditation

Delivered by Rev. Rebecca Weltmann, Ash Wednesday 2012                

           

            When I was a little kid, I loved the movie “Wizard of Oz.” I don’t remember this, but my father will tell you that when I was really little, I would make him go outside with me and we would walk around the backyard singing “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” over and over again. A few years ago, I discovered I also love the book series by L. Frank Baum. I want to read you an excerpt from the second book, “The Land of Oz.” To give you just a brief synopsis of what’s going on, the Scarecrow has been ousted from his throne in a political revolt – well, as political as it can be in the Land of Oz – and he, along with others are being kept prisoner in the castle. He sits and thinks, using those brains that the wizard gave him and he remembers that the wizard escaped Oz in a hot air balloon, so they decide what they have to do is create something that will carry them out of the castle by flight. They have this powder of life that will allow whatever they create to carry them. So, here is an excerpt from “The Land of Oz.”

            “Then let us search through the palace,” continued the Tin Woodman, “and carry all the material we can find to the roof, where I will begin my work.”

            “First, however,” said the Pumpkinhead, “I beg you will release me from this horse, and make me another leg to walk with. For in my present condition I am of no use to myself or to anyone else.”

            So the Tin Woodman knocked a mahogany centre-table to pieces with his axe and fitted one of the legs, which was beautifully carved, on to the body of Jack Pumpkinhead, who was very proud of the acquisition.

            “It seems strange,” said he, as he watched the Tin Woodman work, “that my left leg should be the most elegant and substantial part of me.”

            “That proves that you are unusual,” returned the Scarecrow, “and I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones. For the common folks are like leaves of a tree, and live and die unnoticed.”

            “Spoken like a philosopher!” cried the Woggle-Bug as he assisted the Tin Woodman to set Jack upon his feet.

            “How do you feel now?” asked Tim, watching the Pumpkinhead stump around to try his new leg.

            “As good as new,” answered Jack joyfully, “and quite ready to assist you all to escape.”

            “Then let us get to work,” said the Scarecrow in a business-like tone.

            So, glad to be doing anything that might lead to the end of their captivity, the friends separated to wander over the palace in search of fitting material to use in the construction of their aerial machine.[1]

            I love that line, “I am convinced that the only people worthy of consideration in this world are the unusual ones.” The Scarecrow was always by far my most favorite character in the Oz series. But growing up, I was always sort of different from the other kids my age, so with that in my background I appreciate the kudos for the unusual people. As human beings, we are a little bit like Jack Pumpkinhead, woven together in what might seem like an arbitrary fashion. But piece by piece we are put together. Sometimes, like the Pumpkinhead, our parts wear out and we need replacements, and sometimes there are parts of us that look a little more fashionable than other parts. But all of those things combined are the things that make us what we are. Unusual is one word for it. Fearfully and wonderfully made is another.

            Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent. Whether we are anointed with ashes from the palms of last year or healing oil, it’s a season when we remember that we are all sinners and in need of God’s grace. It’s a day when many Christians focus their attention on fasting, praying, and almsgiving. In Lent we realize how totally dependent we as human beings are on the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.

            But how unusual that love is! How unusual is grace that God wants to be in relationship with us, a messy, less than perfect species. Traditionally Ash Wednesday is a day of mourning for our sin and the sin of all humanity before God, but I think we also need to take time to celebrate the fact that despite all those things that make us messy, rebellious, and resentful – we were worth dying for. The grace of God is an unusual thing. We don’t deserve it. We can’t earn it. A lot of times we don’t even recognize it and there are certainly times when we forget to extend grace to others. But through Jesus Christ, God gives us His grace freely and because of the love of Christ we have hope for the future. That is something to celebrate.

            And yet we still want to be mindful of how dependent on God’s grace we really are. We can do nothing apart from our Lord and Savior.

---

[1]               Baum, L. Frank The Land of Oz (Octopus Books Limited: Great Britain, 1979) pgs. 378-9.

The Transfiguration

Begin this blog entry by reading Mark 4:2-9

Tomorrow is Transfiguration Sunday, that transitional Sunday between the season of Epiphany and the Lenten season. I've been somewhat preoccupied with putting things together for our weekly Lenten study that starts up soon, so I thought it might be a nice break to step aside from Lent and think about something else. Since it's on the liturgical calendar and in the lectionary this week, it's no wonder that the story of the Transfiguration popped into my head.

It's a unique little story about how the disciples saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain top and they saw, standing next to him, Moses and Elijah (not to be confused with Elisha, who comes later). I wonder what the disciples must have been thinking when they saw Jesus the Christ with Moses (representing the law) and Elijah (representing the prophets and the prophesy that Elijah would return to mark the appearance of the Messiah).

We know what Peter was thinking.

"DUDE!!!! That was WICKED AWESOME!!!!"

Okay, he probably didn't say dude. Or wicked. Or awesome. But he was struck with awe and he did immediately suggest that they build homes for Moses and Elijah. Beyond that, Peter, like the other disciples, was rendered speechless by fear. Or awe. Or both. At any rate, scripture reports that he "did not know what he was saying."

Have you ever seen something so awesome happen that you just start talking without even knowing what you're saying? You ramble or babble because the only thing you can think to do is move your lips and make sound come out, even if it's incoherent sound. I'm trying to remember if I've ever had a moment where I was so awe-struck that I just started to babble. I'm not sure I can recall that ever happening to me.

It did, however, happen to the disciples as they witnessed the transfiguration. The word "transfigure" means to change appearance, as if to be glorified or exalted. In witnessing the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on that mountain top, the disciples witness Jesus, perhaps for the first time, as both fully human and fully divine. It's not that this is the moment that Jesus becomes God. It's the moment where the disciples catch a glimpse of Christ's divinity. We celebrate it as a liturgical holiday because it's a good reminder for us, too, that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. We remember this especially as we go into Lent because it is only as a human being that Jesus could die on the cross and it is only as God that Christ could take away the stain of our sins and offer us His perfect grace. Transfiguration Sunday is a reminder of something truly beautiful and something truly awesome.

I have a new awe for this story. I've heard  it so many times that I can't even begin to tell you when I first learned about it (though I suspect I remember the story better from worship than from Sunday school), but for some reason this story has hit me in a new way this year. I keep thinking about the disciples and what must have been going through their minds when they witnessed this incredible thing. What a gift Christ has gievn them, to see a glimpse of His divinity!

...And what a responsibility.

What does it mean for us, as readers, to stand alongside the disciples and witness the Transfiguration? Do you witness this with awe and perhaps a little fear? Or are you, like the disciples, terrified beyond the capacity to speak clearly? Are you indifferent? Or are you wondering what drugs someone slipped into your drink?

As you hear the story read in worship tomorrow or as you read the story to yourself now that I've encouraged you to do so, may you hear it with new ears, see it with new eyes, and stand in awe of the glory of Jesus Christ as we go into this season of Lent together.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Becki

Fare thee well, facebook.

Lately I've been feeling over-saturated by media. I've been really happy to keep the television off and not go on the computer as much at night. I'm hungry for a technology sabbath.

So this morning I deleted my personal facebook account. I was maintaining two accounts: a personal account and my professional account. Today I deactivated the personal account. Why am I friends with all these people that I never talk to? Why do I feel guilty un-friending them? The people I really need to talk to or keep up with are either a) on my professional account or b) in my phone so we text message each other or actually call each other. So I deleted my personal facebook account.

And it actually felt kind of liberating.

Yesterday I did something else bold. I organized my office. I emptied the closet and rearranged all my books according to subject. And it felt liberating.

I've been thinking a lot about this concept of "liberation." Liberation is a pretty big biblical theme (just look at Exodus). What does it mean for us to be liberated in our own time?

For me, liberation means trying to neutralize those things in my life that feel like weights on my shoulders. At the onset, they don't seem like big things. Is having two facebook accounts really a big thing? Is having a messy closet hidden by a door really a big thing? Not really. They are what they are. But if I can subtract and divide those things that drive me just a little bit crazy, it makes a huge difference. And really, who doesn't want to delete those things in their life that add stress?

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul says, "Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful." How beautiful it is to think that we were called to have peace. In a world where it seems like we're constantly seeking liberation from something -- from facebook, from financial stress, from family arguments, from questionable tv programs, from unfortunate friend drama, from the burdens of past hurts...fill in the blank -- it seems so wonderful to think that we're actually called to peace. I want peace. I want serenity. I take comfort in the fact that I can find those things in Christ and in Christ, I can do all things.

What does liberation mean for you? What are those things in your life that you might need liberation from? How can you ask Christ to help you neutralize those things?

May the peace of Christ envelop you.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Becki