Beginning A Journey of Perfectibility!

(Homily for Ash Wednesday)

(Jl 2:12-18; Ps. 50; 2Cor. 5:20-6:2; Mt. 6:1-6.16-18)

     Yearly we embark on this spiritual journey of the Lenten Season. It is a full-time spiritual experience of 40 days, in which we as Christians are called to be sincerely conscious of who we are and who we are called to be before God. This, as a matter of fact, will not only enable us but propel us to embark on the journey of conversion and return back to God, in the manner of the prodigal son (cf. Lk. 15:11-32). It is true that God’s grace and mercy are always available for us, but this is a “kairotic” moment, a moment of grace. Indeed, it is God’s time flowing in the ordinary flux of time. Therefore, to make the best out of this gracious moment, we are called to repudiate all forms of idols that obfuscate our vision and knowledge of the True God, and above all, a moment to grab the infinite and unfathomable mercy of God.

     One may ask: what is the significance of the number 40 in relation to this spiritual journey? Lent is a 40 days period and journey of intense prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, which reflects the 40 days wilderness experience of our Lord Jesus Christ after the event of His Baptism. A careful search into the Bible would reveal that the number forty is mentioned severally and it is indicative of a long time as well as a period of divine testing, trail, probation and judgment. Be that as it may, instances on this in the Bible abound:

• During Noah's time the rains came down for a period of forty days and forty nights (Gen.7:4).

• Moses was with God in the mountain for forty days and forty nights while he was receiving the commandments (Ex. 24:18; 34:28).

• The Israelites where in the wilderness for forty years before they reached the Promised Land (Nm. 14:33-34).

• God gave Nineveh forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4).

• Jesus remained on earth forty days after resurrection (Acts 1:3).

     The event of Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the “kairotic” period: Lent. The event of this day is characterized by the imposition of ashes on the forehead of Christians, which reminds us of who we are, what we are called to do and where we are heading to. For this, during the liturgical act of the imposition of the ashes the Priest says: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”. Ash is a symbol of purification, penitence and repentance. On the other hand, it points to the reality of our mortal bodies after death, for it decomposes and returns back to clay. Interestingly, ash reminds us of the burning fire that goes down, and so is our existential experience.

     In these 40 days we are invited to begin or initiate a journey of perfectibility, for conversion does not occur once and for all. Instead, it has to do with a dynamism that has to be renewed daily. It is an invitation for a CHANGE of mind and heart, a change of behavior and attitude, a real spiritual overhauling of oneself. According Fulton Sheen the most important verse in the Bible is Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand”. Repent and believe the gospel”. We are called to change ourselves because the kingdom of God is near. This is the most important because Jesus preferred to begin his ministry with a clarion call to a CHANGE of life, and not with the manifestation of miracles. The change in our life must start with the change of heart. Little wonder Prophet Joel is inviting us in the first reading thus “tear your hearts and not your garments” (cf. Joel 2:12-18). Secondly, this change must be translated into actions: prayer, fasting and alms giving, and I would like to add: a journey of PERFECTIBILITY, trying to become better than who we were yesterday, one step at a time! Therefore, the pertinent question we have to ask ourselves is: what am I giving up for Lent? Which sin, which addiction or negative tendencies am I giving up?

     It is against the above backdrop that we may affirm that Lent is a time of our Christian self-rediscovery, that is the rediscovery of the truth about oneself in Christ. It is not necessarily only a moment of penitence, a moment of mortification. For this, Jesus decried that even the hypocrites fast and do charity as well (cf. Mt. 6:1-6.16-18).

     Historically, one may not be wrong to say, that during this season there is a desire to relive and re-actualize the 40 years of the Israelites in the desert, as such leading Christians to the knowledge of themselves before God, just as the Israelites were led to the knowledge of their real identity as a people before God. And the knowledge in question comes through the w(W)ord of God. It equally reminds us of the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert, when and where he was tempted by the Devil. But in that episode Jesus won the tempter, the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). He won the Devil with the power of God’s word (cf. Mt. 4:1-11). Be that as it may, the struggle and victorious fight of Jesus in the desert become an example and inspiration for us, to fight and combat against all that threaten our journey of full and self- realization as God’s children.

     The readings of this day situate us well into the context, the immediacy and the programmatic nature of the Lenten season. Prophet Joel in the first reading proclaimed the immediacy and urgency for return to the Lord, that is of conversion, with the following words: “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and tear your hearts and not your garments” (Jl. 2:12-13). The Psalmist joins his voice to that of Prophet Joel thereby, inviting us to the humble admission of our sins. St. Paul too in the second reading reechoed this urgency of the now: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor.6:2). This indeed, reveals the “kairotic” nature of this season, a time of favor and grace. On the other hand, the programmatic nature of this season is orchestrated in the Gospel passage through the dynamics of Almsgiving, Prayer and Fasting. These are the three specific righteous deeds. The righteous deed of giving fosters our relationship with others. The second, prayer which is the dialogue between God and man, is a righteous deed that deepens our life of grace and relationship with God. And the third righteous deed: fasting, the discipline of control over oneself entails that we are serious about the spiritual freedom that opens hearts to the will of God. The evangelist went ahead and delineated the way or ways for its actualization, it must be done in secret, so that “your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt. 6:18).

     Beloved in Christ, at the heart of Lent resounds the old and ever new traditional dictum of “bonum faciendum et malum vitadum”, (that is doing good and avoiding evil). Above all, it is upon this consciousness that prophet Joel invited us to “tear our hearts and not our garments”, because the journey we are called to embark on, is more of an internal work, for true and lasting change comes from within. St. Mathew on his part, calls our attention to authentic Christian living and practice of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. And lastly, St. Paul hits the nail on the head as he affirms vigorously that the time of favor, grace and salvation is now. This season is not an ordinary kronos, but a kairos, an ordinary moment, season that has been transformed into an extraordinary season, a season of grace. May God help us in our daily effort to become better Christians this Lenten period! Amen! Wishing You an authentic and life transforming Lenten experience.

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)