Joel 2:12-18; Ps. 51:3-6, 12-14, 17; 2 Cor. 5:20-6:2; Mat. 6:1-6, 16-18
“Rend your hearts…now is the day of salvation. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” These lines coming from the three readings of today summarize today’s message of Lent. Which is harder to make a spiritual inventory of our lives and reveal all the hidden sin we have covered up or to make a sacrifice of the flesh through fasting and almsgiving? It is the former that is more difficult to make and it creates the “gift at the altar” for the latter to follow. God’s blessing upon the latter is multiplied by the work of the former in a fearless moral inventory we rend our hearts to Jesus.
To “rend your hearts” requires honesty of the ego to squeeze our hearts of the full significance of our sin. It reveals the impact not only on the sinner but on everyone impacted by the sin. It is tempting to reason “no harm done” when we skim the surface of our hearts than to consider the harm that does happen to our relationships with God and with others. “Rend your hearts” to the truth that sin is the weapon that destroys our image of Christ and opens the wounds on the cross. Bleeding is our integrity, honesty, faithfulness and our hope of salvation. “Once saved always saved” is the lie of the evil one to deceive us and bring complacency and denial to our sins. If sin is a rock that strikes the calm waters then the ripple effect is an honest appraisal of all impacted by that one act of sin.
In the field of recovery from addictions there is the “Fourth Step” of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. It states, “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves”. If fear is considered as inverted faith then our fears drive us away from faith and right action. “If today you hear his voice harden not your hearts” with the courage of faith to search for the divine will ready to be the spoken word. Faith delivers God’s mercy to liberate us of sin and bring truth to our moral compass.
The liberated go forth to offer gifts of sacrifice in the form of prayer, penance, and charity. It is surprising that the “old” tradition of fasting that has lost its brilliance in an age of indulgence is resurfacing for its great health benefits. It is being promoted as a form of detoxifying the body yet the body and the soul are one. What is good for the body is good for the soul and vice versa. In fasting the soul is also being cleansed of its hunger for indulgence in the form of a spiritual discipline. It is the one body and soul that is the temple of the Lord and together there is a purification in fasting to strengthen the virtue of temperance, that is regaining the right balance as the temple of God. Who would of “thunk it” that the old returns as new again? That is a recognition that there is one truth and it lies in God. God is the creator of natural law we are called to follow.
In the perfection of obedience to the natural law of God we are purified to offer our gifts of charity and see them multiplied by grace. It is the perfect way into the spiritual law of God to open our hearts to the great commandment to love God above all and our neighbor as ourselves. In this is revealed the true image of Christ in us to be holy and perfect as your heavenly Father is holy and perfect. It begins this day for those who take up the call to “rend your hearts…now is the day of salvation. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you” beyond what our eyes have not seen and our hearts have not felt, what he has prepared for us.
Recent Comments