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A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART

SCRIPTURE READINGS

JOEL 2:12-17
2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-10
MATTHEW 6:1-6, 16-21

ASH WEDNESDAY REFLECTION

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent (40 days of fasting, prayers and reflecting on God’s Word in preparation for Easter). It is a day that reminds us that human beings are mere ashes, therefore, we must be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ to have eternal life. Ash Wednesday in some churches is observed whereby the priest or pastor makes the sign of the cross on the foreheads of the congregants with ash made out of the dry palm fronds of last year’s Palm Sunday. The ashes signify our mortality, weakness and finiteness of humanity before an infinite God who is the creator and sustainer of life. The theme for our Ash Wednesday reflection is “ Broken and a contrite heart.” A broken and contrite heart is feeling or expressing remorse at the recognition that one has done wrong against God. We shall reflect on the following two reasons for which we are required to have a broken and contrite heart.

1. A broken and contrite heart is an act of genuine repentance.

2. A broken and contrite heart draws us to the grace and salvation of God.

First, genuine repentance is a sign that you have experienced a broken and contrite heart. In Jewish culture, a person rends his garment to demonstrate or express remorse, grief, or sorrow over an event or an act. It was one of the ways the Israelites expressed their sign of repentance as they pleaded forgiveness and mercy during fasting. Apart from rending garments, the Jews also wear sackcloth and sit in ashes as a sign of penitence and sorrow or an expression of a broken and contrite heart. It was later realized that the act of rendering one’s garment was reduced to a superficial or theatrical performance, but inwardly, people were not repentant of their sins. This time around, God threatened to bring judgment on the nation Israel for their unrepentance or disobedience, It was for this reason He spoke through the Prophet Joel admonishing the people, “… “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.” (Joel 2:12-13). In other words, their repentance must not be superficial but must be from a broken and contrite heart. God acknowledges repentance that is from a broken and contrite heart. Our fasting and prayers must, first of all, lead to repentance. Unfortunately, many Christians have turned the spiritual exercise of fasting and prayers, which must draw one closer to God into a theatrical performance and a showmanship of self-righteousness. God is more interested in the regeneration of the heart than the mere public display of spirituality. It is for this reason Jesus tells us that “… when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:16-21). Let us use the Lent season to focus on genuine repentance and living a life that pleases God. “…For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Secondly, we experience the grace and salvation of God we have a broken and contrite heart. Paul confirms this fact when he wrote that As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:1-2). Dear friend, let us not take the grace of God for granted or render our salvation worthless by going back to the sins we have been forgiven. Paul again admonished us, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:1-4) Ash Wednesday and the rest of the days in Lent offer us the opportunity to surrender our entire life to Jesus and become His faithful servants. Let us have a broken and contrite heart today and walk in the perfect examples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In summary, the theme for our Ash Wednesday is “a broken and contrite heart” We have acknowledged the fact that genuine repentance is a sign of experiencing a broken and contrite heart. Again, a broken and contrite heart draws us to the grace and salvation of God. May the Holy Spirit empower us through the Lent season and beyond to experience broken and contrite hearts even as we prepare ourselves for the day of the Lord. Amen.