On Ash Wednesday 2006, when I was teaching at my first school, my class was assigned to run the Prayer Service, and I decided to give the sermon myself. I wanted to share what I said then because it is a good summary of a lot of what I believe.
I do want to say that my knowledge of these Greek comes from some books by Dr. Peter Kreeft, a professor of philosophy at Boston University and The King's College. Any misspellings are my fault, but the meanings came from him.
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Today we are gathered here in church to celebrate Ash Wednesday. For those of you who do not know, Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent. Lent is the time that we use to prepare ourselves to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Lent is a very special time of year. It is a time which contains things that seem to make no sense together, but really do belong together. In Lent, we should feel sorrow that Jesus had to die on the cross for us, but we should be happy that he did so, because now we can enter heaven. The saddest day of the year; the day on which we remember Jesus dying; we call Good Friday. But, what is “good” about it? What is good is that when Jesus died, he opened the gates of heaven, allowing us to live with God.
During Lent, we are asked to give up something that we value, whether it is drinking sodas, eating dessert, or playing video games in order to show that we want to; in some small way; imitate Jesus, who gave up His life for us.
Lent also shows us in a very special way the love that God has for everyone. After all, didn’t God send down His Son, the person He loved most in the entire world, to die for us? And not just to die any death, but to die that most painful and humiliating death that existed. In John Chapter 15: 9-13 it says, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Love is what God is all about. Love is what Lent is all about. In Greek, there are three words that mean love: eros, philia, and agape. Eros is the love that might be expressed between a husband and wife, or people who are dating. Philia is a love that would exist between family members. Agape, however, is what is known as transcendent love. Agape is a love that gives to others until it has nothing left, and then gives just a little more. Agape is a love that would give of itself and might be demonstrated by someone who would save the life of another without regard for their own. Agape is the type of love that God has for all of us. A perfect love, a love that is not at all dependent on what we do, but simply exists because God chooses to let it exist.
Agape is the love that we must try to attain. During Lent, we need to look at our actions and our thoughts and ask ourselves if what we think, say, or do is loving. If it is not, then we need to ask for God’s forgiveness. For every act that we commit which is sinful, we are told that it is like Jesus is nailed to the cross again.
Today, as we come forward to receive ashes on our foreheads, we will be singing a song. The words are in Latin. They are: “Ubi Caritas et Amor, Ubi Caritas Deus Ibi Est.” They mean: “Where there is charity and love, where there is charity, there is God.” Caritas means “charity” and can also mean “love”. It has the same meaning as agape. Like agape, it is a love that gives of itself endlessly. This song reminds us of Matthew 18:20 in which Jesus says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Love is for everyone at all times. The one most consistent theme of the Bible is that of love. When Jesus is asked to name the greatest commandment in Matthew 22, he says that there are two: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells us that:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not
love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If
I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and
all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the
poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love,
I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not
easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease;
where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is
knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we
prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect
disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put
childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in
a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I
shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest
of these is love.
As you go through Lent, keep a few things in mind.
[1] Ask God to forgive you for the times that you have been mean and not loving to those around you. Ask Him for help and grace to become more like Him and to become more perfect in your love.
[2] Thank God for sending Jesus into the world to die for us. He did not have to, and His doing so demonstrates for us very clearly just how much God loves us.
[3] Keep these days between now and Easter holy. Pray unceasingly. Ask for God’s help for yourself and for others, especially those who you may not get along with.
Ash Wednesday is the day in which we prepare for Lent, which in turn prepares us for Jesus’ death and resurrection. When you come up to receive ashes today, let them be not just a sign on the outside of the coming of Lent, but allow them to enter into you and change you from the inside to become a more holy and loving person.
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