"Lent Is Good for Us"
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tonight
we begin the Lenten fast. The season of
sorrow and repentance for our sins. The
alleluias go silent. The readings,
sermons, and hymns take on a repentant tone.
The paraments that adorn the altar, pulpit, and lectern have been
changed to violet, the color of repentance.
It’s Lent once again.
Lent is
good for us. Though, the Old Adam- our
sinful nature- hates it more than any other time of the church year. The sinful nature hates to be shown its
sins. It hates to take a long gaze into
God’s Law and behold just how ugly it really is. It hates to hear that word “repent.” It hates to focus on our Lord’s passion. The sinful nature hates Lent, but that’s
precisely why it’s good for us.
“Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?,’” writes the Prophet Joel. They say “where is their God” because we have
lived as if God doesn’t matter and as if we matter the most. They say it because we’ve lived as if there
was no God. They say it because we have
lived not in the fear of God, but in the fear of men. They say it because we’ve worshiped
ourselves. We’ve been selfish, lustful,
petty, mean, and proud. We’ve gossiped,
hated people, lived for ourselves, and lied.
We’ve thought ourselves more superior; better Christians, less sinners
than others.
For
all of this and so much more we consecrate a 40-day fast that we know as
Lent. Many this day have marked
themselves with ashes, signifying their mortality and sinfulness. This evening we, here, have confessed our
sins, examined ourselves, and been absolved.
Our sinful nature hates Lent. But
Lent is good for us. Because Lent is for
sinners, among whom I am foremost.
“’Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘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.’”
We return to the Lord with our heads
lowered and on our knees. Repent. For we’ve not lived as our Lord would have us
live. Repent. And not just one Wednesday a year, but each
day.
But,
beloved of the Lord, repent with faith that the Lord has been gracious and
merciful to you. He has heard your cries
for mercy and has answered you. We can’t save ourselves. The disease of sin runs too deep. So, the Lord pours
out His wrath on His Son, who carries your sin, and has pity on you.
The
sinful nature hates Lent, also, because the cross is clearly seen. The sinful nature repulses at Jesus’ cross
because it wants to do the work of salvation on its own. He wants to be in charge if his own
destiny.
So, the
Lord bids you to return. Return to the
Lord in repentance and trust that Christ has died for you. Return to your baptism, for your foreheads
still bear the mark of the cross. Return
to the Word ,for in the balm of His Gospel you are given peace and
forgiveness. Return to the altar, for
the Lord meets you there with His forgiving body and blood.
Return to the Lord your God. He has come
to you. He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast
love. He will not pronounce a death sentence over your head, deserved though it
would be. That Jesus has heard and taken upon Himself. You have a life sentence
pronounced over you but a sentence that proclaims that you are forgiven, washed,
justified, sanctified, holy.
Though the
sinful nature hates it, Lent is good for us.
It exposes us for the people that we are and it ushers us to the cross
where your sins have been answered for.
Though, the sinful nature hates being shown its sins and hates the cross
of Jesus, the New Man can’t get enough of the cross of Christ where full
atonement has been made. The sacrifice
of sacrifices has been offered on your behalf.
Our Lord is gracious and merciful to you as He gives you His Son for
you. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
