Thomas B. Cundiff
Joel 2: 1-17
Matthew 6: 1-18 (selected)
INTRODUCTION:
Spring Cleaning.
We all think about it. Some or us
actually do it. What do we need to do to
clean and clear our homes and yards after a long winter of collecting all sorts
of things…..even some of the old Christmas boxes still sitting around.
Lent is also about cleaning – Spring Cleaning – our
spiritual homes and yards. This image of
cleaning up our lives in preparation for Easter has been around for a long
time. What needs to be polished, cleaned
– even tossed in making more room for God in our spiriutal house? What negative attitudes or bad habits need to
be thrown away. What cob webs need to be
cleared from our minds and hearts. What
good habits need some on-going polish. To
use the words of another preacher, Fred Anderson, how do we remove the “incrustations
in our lives which occlude God’s presence”?[1] Sounds like he is using a different image,
like that of clearing cholesterol from our arteries….incrustations and
occlusions that block the smooth flow of God’s spirit through our spiritual
veins.
Spiritual Spring Cleaning for the Christian has traditionally
involved three spiritual disciplines.
(1) almsgiving (acts of charity), (2) prayer, (2) and fasting. Straight from scripture, we will spend the
next few minutes looking at these lenten disciplines:
The first Lenten Discipline: Almsgiving/Charity (vs. 1-4)
SCRIPTURE: “Beware of practicing your piety before
others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your
Father in heaven…. So whenever you give
alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you,
they have received their reward. But when
you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father
who sees in secret will reward you.”
MEDITATION:
Almsgiving is the same as talking about charity or caring
for the poor. One of the best ways to
clear the dust and cobwebs and clutter out of our lives is in taking the focus
off of our personal needs and redirecting our thoughts and prayers toward those
who are less fortunate.
Almsgiving or giving to the poor is through intentional,
but hidden acts of charity. Why
hidden? Jesus is clear that ALMS are
given for their own sake rather than for acclaim or good favor. We don’t give to charity so others will say
applaud us or bestow upon us acclaim.
That’s not what being a Christian is about. Care for the poor among us is the bed-rock to
being a part of the church.
Scripture mandates that we respond to one another with
charitable care. What we do with our
charity is personal and private. As we
have seen with special offerings to the church in the past, our collective
contributions to help the poor us substantial.
May God, this season of Lent, help us grow in our charity.
The second Lenten Discipline: Prayer (5-6)
SCRIPTURE: ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the
hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street
corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have
received their reward. But whenever you pray,
go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret;
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
MEDITATION:
Prayer is another personal discipline in our cleaning our
spirtual lives. Prayer is our drawing near to God with our
deepest thoughts, hopes, dreams and concerns.
Prayer it the time we invest immersing oursevles in God’s presence.
What do we need to clear away? Those things in our schedules that keep us
from focusing 100% on God. This is
easier said than done. If you have not
already been practicing this discipline of daily prayer, consider finding some
time first thing in the morning to ask:
GOD: WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO
WITH MY LIFE TODAY?
If morning doesn’t work for you consider adding to your
lunch break some prayers of intercession. List in your mind those people you know who
are hurting. This is also a good time to
think about those people you need to see, call or write. A good question to ask as we begin these
prayers: I WONDER HOW THESE PEOPLE ARE
DOING? WHO NEEDS MY PRAYERS WHO ARE
SICK OR GRIEVING OR STUGGLING WITH ISSUES IN THEIR LIVES?
Then pray for them.
Another guide to prayer:
SCRIPTURE. Perhaps, before bed,
we can read some scripture before prayer.
The Psalms are a great place to start.
Praying through the Psalms can help us shake some of the bad habits that
normally occupy our thoughts. Instead of
sitting in front of the television or computer consider reading and reflecting
on the psalms….If you are married or have children, this time of reading and
reflection and prayer can be done as a family.
At the heart of spiritual disciplines is cleaning some of
the “junk” out of our lives so we can spend some time with God in prayer.
The third Lenten Discipline: Fasting (16-18)
SCRIPTURE:
‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for
they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I
tell you, they have received their reward. But when
you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by
your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward
you.
Fasting is an ancient discipline. Traditionally, fasting
is an expression of submission to God.
What does this mean? We need to
recognize, through fasting, that we are not in this world alone. We are dependent on the blessings of God in
order to live. When we are hungry, we
realize quickly how much we depend on the food and water (sustenance) God
provides.
There are many kinds of fasts. We do not need to
participate in the complete fast of no intake of food or drink. In fact, most clergy
and spiritual directors insist that, if you are going to fast by giving up food
for a day, you quite intentionally increase you drinking water and juices. We don’t want anyone to get sick because they
are not eating properly.
Some in Lent give up meat for the entire season. Others
take a day or even two a week, as was the custom in Israel, giving up all food,
taking only liquid. It has been found to be physically as well as spiritually
beneficial -- cleansing to the system.
But more than anything else, fasting clears the mind,
cleans up our spirit, and draws us back into intentional dependence on God. Remember how Jesus faced his own temptations
in the wildernes? Fasting was an
intentional way of experiencing hunger. It is a way of understanding emptiness. It is in this emptiness we long for the food
that God provides through Jesus, the Bread of Life!
Conclusion: Concerning Treasures (19-21)
SCRIPTURE:
‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break
in and steal. For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
MEDITATION:
Jesus' words about alms (charity), prayer and fasting have
been misinterpreted over the years. One
would think in reading this scripture that everything we do do is to be done in
private. What scripture really suggests is that we don’t just go through the public
motions of practicing these lenten disciplines without also doing some things
personally and privately.
Conclusion:
"Remember
you are dust,
from dust you
have come and to dust you will return.
Repent and
believe the gospel."
This evening, we mark ourselves for this time of
house-cleaning because we want to intentionally grow in our relationship with
God. Let us grow personally and as a
church….in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen
The Madison Avenue Pulpit, February 25, 1998
The Rev. Dr. Fred R. Anderson, Pastor, Copyright 1998.
The Rev. Dr. Fred R. Anderson, Pastor, Copyright 1998.
No comments:
Post a Comment