 Rev. Taek Kim |
Ash
Wednesday Homily
Sermon:
Scripture: |
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In the book
of Joel, the prophet is calling upon the people of Judah to
repent…having seen the devastation of their land from
plagues of locusts and severe drought. Joel’s message is not
only one of warning, but also one of hope. For in Joel’s
call to repentance, there is an assurance of God’s
restoration of the Land of Judah in the following chapters. Today’s
scripture reading reminded me of times when I was a child and
had done something wrong. The fear would worsen with more time
to think about it before my father would get home. Thoughts
ran through my mind of how to say “Sorry” in order to
lessen or eliminate the consequences. Sometimes, when my
parents got home, one of my three siblings would be the
“blaring trumpet” that alerted my parents to any one of my
mischievous acts. But as I grew older and understood more
about my loving parents and how they would respond with love
and forgiveness, I would go to them and say “Sorry” and
know that there was loving forgiveness, even if there were
tough consequences for my actions. The love and forgiveness
did not give me a feeling of freedom to do anything because I
knew I’d be forgiven. But it brought me to a place where I
could do my best without fear of rejection or loss of love. Well, some
of you may know that I was married to Jamie in July of last
year. It’ll be eight months, as of tomorrow. And along the
lines of repentance and reconciliation, I have learned quite a
few strategies for peace negotiations in times of marital
disputes or wrongs. Thank God Jamie and I are very forgiving
and that we have long fuses for our feelings of anger. But
I’ve found in marriage, as in my growing relationships with
family, that there need to be times when wrongs are
identified, owned, repented for and forgiven. What is the
point? To love. As read in
the second chapter of Joel, there was a trumpet to be blown to
alarm the people of the day of the Lord, calling them to
prepare and sanctify themselves. We worship today and begin
this Lenten season with a call to prepare ourselves with
repentance. And as with Joel’s message, this Lenten season
is also one of joyful news, expectation and celebration of
Christ’s resurrection on Easter. The call to prepare and
repent has to do with remorse over our sins and preparation,
not fear of punishment. In the
summer of 1996, I was privileged to travel with an American
Indian friend who is a United Methodist pastor in Maryland. In
Oklahoma and South Dakota, I was invited to ceremonies with
Lakota and Kiowa Indians. One ceremony moved my heart
tremendously because we were given a long time to reflect and
share joys, sorrows and sins, lifting them up to God aloud.
After a time of long silence, we were ready for the next part
of the ceremony which ended with sharing of gifts and much
celebration. At certain
times in our lives, we take time to think about that for which
we need to prepare ourselves. During Lent, we are also to look
at ourselves and our mortality in light of our Creator, God.
We were made from dust, and we return to dust. The ashes from
last year’s Palm Sunday palms signify our humanity and our
reliance and need for God’s redemptive love. Knowing
that God is calling us to prepare ourselves spiritually, we
pray (looking within), read and meditate on Scripture,
worship, and take time to serve others. We can experience more
deeply the love God shows to us as we prepare ourselves for
the weeks leading up to Christ’s death and joyful
resurrection. God loved
us first. God will always love us. God will always call us to
repentance. God will always forgive. And we respond out of
love and thankfulness. I invite
you now to take a few minutes of silence to look within, to
pray, and to think upon the gracious gift of eternal life we
have through Jesus Christ. *
* * O God, Maker of all things and judge of all that you have made, from the dust of the earth you have formed us and from the dust of death you will raise us up. By the redemptive power of the cross, create in us clean hearts and put within us a new spirit, that we may lead lives worthy of your calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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