Have you ever noticed when some people start to feel good about feeling bad?  You know what I mean.  Those that seem to revel in misery, who thrive off a sadness.  We Lutherans can sometimes get this way, especially during this time of the year.  We adorn ourselves with ashes, a cross on the forehead that is messy, but not messy enough to really be a bother, that perfectly imperfect shaped cross.  We hear the word of God’s Law. And we lay it on thick. And then we repent, hard. This is not just the normal Sunday morning confession and absolution, nor any run of the mill apology. This is where we try to feel really sorry because we know we really need forgiveness.

Lest we think too much of our suffering and Lenten pride, we are brought back to reality pretty quickly.  We hear of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them…”  Jesus assumes that these will be done, but He warns against wrong intention.  He assumes that His righteous people will be acting righteously for the glory of God, not for the glory of oneself.  Notice that Jesus says, “When you give to the needy… when you pray… when you fast.”  Not if… but when.

So tonight, we return to our Lord with all our heart. We make a new beginning this Lent in our Christian faith.  This new beginning isn’t just trying harder. Of trying to be more pious to look less pious.  But this new beginning is one of a simple faith, of repentance and the fear, love and trust in God above all things.

And so we pray along with King David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” There’s no doubt about it. Our Christian piety is not the problem.  Our outward actions and words reflect what is in the heart. Whether the heart is one cleansed by the blood of Christ, transplanted by God, or dead in trespasses and sins.  The problem is when we have a bad heart full of self-righteous that circulates sinful thoughts and desires throughout our body.  The Lord wants inner sincerity, not just outward show.  He wants a changed heart, a holy heart, a righteous heart, of which there is only one – the heart of God in Christ Jesus.

Consider our Lord upon the cross. Nailed through His hands and feet.  A spear pierced through His side, from which flowed blood and water by which are sins, our hearts, were cleansed. Jesus shed His blood upon the cross that our heart might be clean, might be pure and holy.  He give us a holy heart to make us the holy people of God.

This is why we consider various saints this Lenten season.  Not to look at their outward righteousness before other people as those who have a righteousness of their own. But because of the righteousness they have that comes from God, a righteousness that belongs to Christ and is received by them through faith in Christ. And then a righteousness that is done by them, as imperfect and sinful as it might be, righteous works cleansed by Christ. 

First, we thank God for their faithful service to His Church.  Second, through such remembrance our faith is strengthened as we see God’s mercy working through others.  Third, they are examples by which we may imitate both their faith and holy living according to our vocations in life.  We honor them not for their own sake, but as examples of those in whom the saving work of Jesus Christ has been made manifest to the glory of His Holy Name and to the praise of His grace and mercy.

We pray that the unity of faith between the church triumphant and the church militant may be begun in this life. We pray behind those closed doors, but we also pray in public, not as hypocrites trying to look good, but so that others might see Jesus reflected in our words and deeds.  We desire that we may progress toward and seek after that blessed communion of saints, that we should conform ourselves to it and not to the world.  We are not of this world but belong to a heavenly city. While we live in the flesh here on earth, we should begin to lift up our heads and our souls, desiring and thinking of our life in eternity with the company of heaven.

As we sit in our pews this Ash Wednesday, feeling good about feeling bad, tempted to think that by our confession and repentance we are making things right between us and God, that if we just try hard enough to be good we too will be numbered among the saints, we are deeply and dangerously wrong. The cross of ashes upon our foreheads points us, finally, to the truth of this day, this season, indeed our whole lives: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” But also that the Son of God became man, dust like you, joined in your temptations and sorrow, suffered death and the wrath of the Father on your behalf, laid to rest in a dusty tomb, and is risen again!  Because of Jesus, when you are but dust in the grave, God will call you up and out.  Because of Jesus, and Jesus alone, we learn to love Lent for all the right reasons-the righteousness of God is ours through faith in Christ crucified for the forgiveness of our sins.

(Some of this sermon is modified from a blog post by Chad Bird, “Hurts so good, our dirty little secret”)