This morning, Father Harrison offered the imposition of ashes on the sidewalk in front of the Garfield County courthouse in downtown Glenwood Springs. Forty-eight people stopped by to receive the ashes. Many circled the block in search of a parking place before returning to take part in the sacred ritual and receive a blessing.

Father Harrison offers the imposition of ashes.

Busy folks could stop by to receive ashes during their work day.

John 18:28-38

While we recite our creeds during worship, I’m often reminded that I feel sorry for Pontius Pilate … “For our sake, he (Jesus) was crucified under Pontius Pilate.”  Quite a weight to bear, throughout all of history.  The truth of the matter is, Pilate seemed to do all he could to persuade those who wished to crucify Jesus that the entire matter was not within his authority; none of his business.  “Judge him according to your own law,” was his reply to Jesus’ accusers.  But they were relentless.  Pilate asked Jesus what he could have done that his own ”nation,” his own people would seek to put him to death probably having heard himself that Jesus was the “messiah” Israel had waited for.  ”I told the truth,” Jesus said.  Pilate wondered what truth is that Jesus would most likely die for it, or for the lack of it.  Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.  Christians who know and understand that they will suffer the loss of all earthly things will wear the mark of that truth on their foreheads for the better part of the day.  For all we gain, all we become, in as much of this world that we can be, we are still only small particles of a divine universe and each of us will one day return to something even smaller, like so much dust.  We may lack human understanding and knowledge of the holy ones.  But we know who gathers the wind in the hollow the hand, who wraps up the water(s) in a garment, who has established the ends of the earth?  What is his name?  What is the name of his child?  Surely you know … that’s truth enough.

Genesis 3:22-33

A few years ago a friend and colleague painted his vision of Jacob wrestling with “the man” and passed it along to me.  I keep it on my dresser along with the stuff I put in pockets each day, pocket knife, handkerchief, this and that.  The painting reminds me I’m about to go out and wrestle with God again, each day.  The stuff in my pocket will be of no help in our encounter.  We’ve been at it a long time now, God and me.  Before I suffer any disjointed limbs I give up and allow God to prevail over me, its just easier, and how I want to live this life anyway.  But I do enjoy and am grateful for the daily tussle.  Jacob did not know the nature of the man he wrestled with.  That’s the way it is when we struggle with a force beyond ourselves, like God.  We can’t be sure if we should continue to fight, just give up, or give in and live.  Any true engagement with God will exhaust one’s endurance, but the real agony of divine engagement comes in not knowing or understanding what our struggle with God is all about in the first place.  It most likely has something to do with our own will to prevail in all things in this life.  Saying yes to God in the full light of day, giving in to God’s will over our own, in that kind of surrender we will see the face of God.  It is there, in everyone and everything … in every day’s encounters.  Why we struggle with God is a mystery that will never be unraveled; it is part of the fear and uncertainty of our meeting God face to face.

1 John 2:12-17

The apostle John wrote this letter to no particular church, rather he sent it as a pastoral letter to several congregations who were struggling with and developing their faith.   John is the apostle of love, and he mentions love all throughout his letter.  The portion we have to consider this day is a perfect example of his ability to write authoritatively and profoundly about love; making brief statements and using simple words … words of grace, the language of love.  Our children will come to know Christ. Those who are mature in faith have a long standing relationship with Christ.  Our young people will understand Christ’s purpose in this world.  We all know God loves us, and has from the beginning.  You who are young in your faith, you have the heart to love as God loves us … the word lives in your hearts.  If we say we know Christ Jesus the word will live in our hearts.  We can teach our children, we can love like Christ, we can perpetuate the love of Christ.

In this day’s suggested reading from Genesis (27:1-29) Issac’s (son of Abraham) story reaches its climax in the tale of the parental blessing received in deception.  Ironically, Jacob and Rebekah involve themselves in moral turpitude in order to achieve what God would have brought to pass in any case – God’s will.  The tale is almost comedy: a goat prepared to taste like wild game, hands covered with hairy kid-skin, the old and bumbling father, the mother hiding in the background breathlessly witnessing the unearned blessing.  But in the end it’s pathos over comedy in Jacob’s lack of morals, in his stealing of the precious blessing of a father at his death bed; he bears the burden of guilt all the rest of his life.  Much later, St. Paul suggested to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.“  Still today, deception is often an acceptable means of achieving one’s purpose and gain.  We humans are free to act morally or immorally.  But how free are we in the context of God’s will for us?

The Morning Prayer gospel reading for today (John 7:53-8:11) has “a woman who had been caught in adultery” standing before the scribes and Pharisees with Jesus there in the middle of what is about to happen.  The authorities make their accusation against the woman; not so much condemning her as testing Jesus.  “Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground” (vs. 6, 8).  There are as many scholarly opinions and theological writings about just what it was he wrote as there was grains of sand and dirt set aside by his scribbling finger.  He had to be at least a bit fearful of what was to happen as rocks were gathered, gripped, and aimed for the woman, perhaps himself.  Neither he or the woman ran for safety.  He must of wrote something comforting and assuring that no harm would come to either of them.  “Knowing what they were capable of, Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt, “Be still.”  He slowly straightened up and said to them, “if you have not sinned, ever, and God knows you have not sinned, then you are free to throw the stone you hold in your hand.”  Once again he bent down and wrote on the ground, “and know that I am God.”  They could not read what Jesus had written, and they went away one by one.  Jesus straightened up again and said to the woman, “They have left, and without condemning you.”  “Yes”, she said, ”not one of them.”  ”Go home now, and keep your heart and mind in this knowledge I have shown you and you will sin no more.”  That’s my own take on the scene there at the temple that early morning.  “Be still and know that I am God,”  is the truth that steadies and calms me.  Its written on my heart.

The Psalmist writes for us today: “Great things are they that you have done; O Lord my God!  How great your wonders and your plans are for us!  Oh, that I could make them known and tell them!  But they are more than I can count.” (Psalm 40:5-6).  I’ll hang on to his song over the next couple of days.  Our parish Annual Meeting is held this Sunday (1-29) and we will indeed rejoice over the great things God has done for us, and the great things that God has led us to do.  Typically, during a parish Annual Meeting, the people are subject to something akin to near tearful hand-wringing over a perceived decline of the church.  Not so for us here at St. Barnabas.  One wonders, “Oh, that I could make the good things known and tell them, but they are more than I can count.”  I told a colleague who asked me what format the meeting will take, “I plan to let the people tell the story.”  The people who have brought grace and goodness, their minds, souls, and bodies to this church will tell the good news story … not I.  I will bless them and give thanks that they have brought good things too numerous to count!

On Sunday, January 29, the annual congregational meeting will be held following the 10:00 a.m. worship service. Reports from the priest, the treasurer, and others will be brief but informative!  After the meeting, we will have a pot-luck lunch. Bring a dish to share.

At a gathering, yesterday, where “church talk” prevailed, I heard amazing stories about growth in the church.  Not in terms of numbers, but people, unexpected seekers who seem to no more know why they came to a church as the people already sitting in the pews can say what first brought them to that place. We often judge growth in the church as numerical, but it is more about growth in one’s desire to be close to things holy, to touch them, take them in … a maturation of awareness … a ripening of the heart … hearts split open wishing to take in light and Word and spiritual food.  All people are worthy of every blessing we, the church, can offer.  Everyone is worthy the unconditional love we have received!

“But I am like one who cannot hear,* like those who cannot speak and do not open their mouth … from those who offer no defense.” Ps. 38: 13-14

At first glance, great suffering at the hands of a God full of wrath and anger appears to have brought the Psalmist to their knees, but a closer and prayerful look reveals otherwise; for in the Lord, they have fixed their hope.  Be silent when being torn down, do nothing while being cast away, do not seek revenge or justification, fix hope on nothing of this world.  Help is not far from you, God is very near, turn your gaze away from this world, at least for a time, and be glad.