BEAUTY FOR ASHES
I
have always been uncomfortable with the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. The
rest of the day was an awkward experience. Having an ash cross on the forehead
certainly draws attention to yourself. And that’s the problem with it. The
ashes, which are a symbol of the death we live in and walk towards because of
our sin, easily become something else altogether. They become a sign that we’ve
been to church that day. Suddenly I would notice how many people did not have
ashes plastered on their foreheads. The sinful flesh would begin to become
comfortable with the ashes. They were no longer a sign of God’s judgment and my
deserved fate. They were now a mark of my own piety. I had been to church on a
day when most people had not. I was holy enough to celebrate Lent. The ashes
became a mark of my own righteousness, something for me to showcase to others
who weren’t pious enough to wear the ashes.
The
sinful flesh easily distorts the humility which is intended by the ashes into a
work people do so “that they may be seen by men.” (Matthew 6:5) But the problem with Ash
Wednesday runs deeper than a practice which the flesh can warp. The ashes are
all law. The law always condemns (which is why the flesh tries to make the law
into a badge of honor). The imposition of ashes marks the Christian with the law’s
condemnation and that is how Christians leave the sanctuary.
But this is now how the Lord
wants His Christians to live. God does smite us with the Law, but the Law is
His alien work. (Isaiah 28:21) Isaiah calls the Law the Lord’s “alien” or
“strange” work because it is the work in which He takes no pleasure. The Lord
says to Ezekiel, “I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked, but that
the wicked turn from his way and live.” (Ezekiel 33:11) He uses His Law to accuse sinners of their sin, to
kill sinners dead in their tracks. But this work is done so that He might do
His proper work, the work of forgiving sins and raising dead sinners to life
through His Gospel. Thus the Lord says in Isaiah 61:3 that the task of
Christ will be,
To console
those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for
mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Consolation
for mourning. Joy for sorrow. Praise for heaviness. Beauty for Ashes. The Lord
delights in showing mercy. It is His good and gracious will to forgive sinners
who repent. So why leave the sanctuary with the visible symbol of the Law upon
our foreheads if our sins are forgiven? This is why we no longer do the
imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. Instead, we speak together The Order of
the Confessional Service (TLH pg.46-49) to confess our sins. Then each
individual approaches the rail, not for further condemnation, but to receive
the absolution individually. The ashes are merely a symbol of the Law. The
Absolution is something far greater than a mere symbol.
The
Absolution is commanded by God. It is given to the Office of the Holy Ministry
as its chief duty. On the night of His resurrection, Jesus appears to the
eleven disciples. St. John records:
When He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive
the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you
retain the sins of any, they
are retained. (John 20:22-23)
The
apostles, as Christ’s called and ordained representatives, have this as their
primary task. Indeed, all their other tasks, preaching, distributing the
sacrament, offering counsel, revolve around this duty: to forgive and retain
sins.
This
is a real forgiveness in which Christ is truly present. It is not a ‘feel good’
proclamation or a pep talk to do better next time. It is the voice of Christ
Himself absolving your sins. He tells the disciples in Luke 10:16, “He who
hears you hears me.” He also says in Matthew 16:19, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This is what makes absolution spoken by the
pastor a true treasure. It is the word of God Himself.
Hearing the Absolution (publically or privately) provides great consolation
to the troubled conscience. Martin Chemnitz (1522-1586) writes:
But if one should diligently explain to me how much
comfort comes to a troubled conscience from this, namely that I might know from
this where I ought to seek and might find Christ my Lord, so that He might deal
individually and separately with me, a very vile sinner, through the Word, and
I may be allowed to hear that very sweet statement and comfort as immediately
from Him: Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee; go in peace.
(Enchiridion 285)
This
is far removed from the Do-It-Yourself forgiveness of the modern Evangelicals
who prefer to stay home and read their Bibles over hearing the Word of God
spoken through His pastor. In absolution Christ deals privately with me through
the external Word, not a word within my heart or mind. I hear it spoken to me
by the man Christ has put here to dole out His forgiveness.
Not
only does private absolution deal with each sinner individually with the Word, it
also teaches us that it is a means through which God wants to deal with you.
Chemnitz again:
Moreover, private absolution also effects this,
that I have no need to dispute anxiously and with concern within myself what
God thinks of decides about me in heaven, inasmuch as I can become the more
sure about that matter through private absolution here on earth, so that I ought
not doubt at all that it is valid in heaven also. And the Holy Spirit wants to
be present in that very act (Jn 20:22-23) and strengthen and preserve faith
through the Word. And for these reasons private absolution is justly to be both
exalted and freely used. (Enchiridion 286)
God
truly and honestly forgives sins in the absolution so that faith can put its
trust in those words and rely upon the absolution in every temptation. The Lord
says Christ (and His servants) will give “beauty for ashes.” So we put away the
man-made imposition of ashes. After all, what good is a symbol when you can
have something real and audible to trust?
This
is, of course, teaching you to come to private absolution throughout the year,
but especially during Lent. Lent is a penitential season in which we struggle
against temptation with faith and prayer. Private absolution is one more means
of grace by which Christ wants to forgive your sins and equip you to battle
temptation throughout these forty days (and beyond.)
On
Ash Wednesday, and any other day of the year, come trade in the ashes of sorrow
and guilt so that you might receive the most beautiful thing: the forgiveness
of all your sins, spoken by the pastor as if from God Himself. Ad Finem Illum,
Amen.
