Cycle B Lent Ash Wednesday

In today’s gospel, Jesus warns us thrice against acting as the hypocrites do:
“When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and in the streets to win the praise of others.”
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues
and on street corners so that others may see them.”
“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.”
What is a hypocrite? Who is a hypocrite? The word hypocrite comes from the Greek word
hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” The Greek word itself is made up of two
Greek words that literally translate as “an interpreter from underneath” because actors in
ancient Greek theater wore large masks to convey which character they were playing, and so
they interpreted or acted out the persona they represent from underneath their masks.
This Greek word was eventually assumed into the English language with an extended
meaning to refer to any person who was wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be
someone or something they were not. In the 13th-century, many religious texts used the word
hypocrite to refer to someone who pretends to be morally good or pious in order to deceive
others. In other words, hypocrites are actors who pretend to be someone they are not. This is the
sense in which Jesus uses the word in today’s gospel.

God Looks to the Heart

In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us of a tough lesson. He tells us to stop being hypocrites, to
stop looking like Christians on the outside while being self-centered, arrogant, and egotistical on
the inside. Today, Jesus encourages us to take off our masks, to stop pretending, and to once
again be true to our true selves. 
This may be a very difficult for us for two reasons:
 First, we don't like to admit that we sometimes act like hypocrites. But the fact is, we do.
We try to deceive, to put on a show, to give the right impression, even if it's false. We try
to hide our motives. We are all hypocrites in some way.
 Second, we are afraid that if we take off our mask, God may reject us. And surely, no
one wants to be rejected.
But today, Jesus invites us not to act like the hypocrites do. He wants us not to pretend to be
someone or something that we are not. He desires that we be true to our true selves. And this
brings us to a second point: Who are we really? What is our true self?

When we are marked with Ashes

Each year on Ash Wednesday, we are mark our foreheads with ashes. We do this for two
reasons.
First, ashes are a sign of our being sinners. In the olden days, people who are repentant and
remorseful for the wrong that they have done, put ashes on their heads. Therefore the ashes that
we are about to receive indicate that we are sorry for our sins and that we shall do penance for
them during Lent. This is why the priest may say, as he marks us with ashes, “Turn away from
sin and believe in the Gospel.”
 Second, ashes are a reminder that we are mortal. They indicate that we will someday die.
To appreciate this second meaning, we recall that right after Adam and Eve sinned, God said to
them: “Because of what you have done . . . you [will] go back to the soil from which you have
been formed. You were made from soil [dust], and you will become soil [dust] again.” And this
explains why the priest may also say, when he marks us with ashes, “You are dust and to dust
you shall return.”
Sinners and mortal. Is this all that there is to us? Perhaps there is a more hopeful and positive
way of considering the ashes we are about to receive.
In today’s first reading, from the Book of Joel, encourages us to tear our hearts and not our
garments as a sign of repentance and to return to the Lord. And we can do this with confidence
because we have a God who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and
relenting in punishment.
Being a former Maths teacher, I would therefore like to propose that we consider the ashen
cross on our foreheads as a plus sign, a positive sign (how much more positive can we get?).
Today we are invited to allow the cross made of ashes to remind us that in spite of our sins, in
spite of our deep-seeded selfishness, God hasn't given up on us and will never give up on us.
Why? Because he plus signs us. He sees what is deep within our hearts and he sees something
good. He knows that we mean well, that we desire to do good, and that we can do good with his
help and grace. And he knows this because He created us, He made us in his image and likeness.
Thus, he is always willing to give us the benefit of the doubt; he is willing to give us all the
chances we need to be able to bring out what is good in us.
Indeed, as the prophet Joel has written, we have a God who is gracious and merciful, slow
to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.
Peel Off a Mask This Lent
With that said, today Ash Wednesday, let the cross-shaped ash on our foreheads that the Lord
always plus signs us whenever we commit a mistake. He gives us the benefit of the doubt and
gives us all the chances we need to get things right because he know that deep down we are
good, that deep down we have good intentions, that deep down we only want to do goodness to
others and to this world.
And because the Lord has always plus signs us, we are invited to two things:
1. To do our best to be who we truly are—the good and loving person the Lord created us to
be.
2. To plus-sign others the way the Lord has plus-signed us.
May we spend the forty days of Lent plus signing each other—seeing the good in us and
making it shine through us and seeing the good in ourselves and in others even if it does not
always shine through us.
Let us pray.
Lord God, let this Lent wash away all my doubts about your love for me, for others, and for
all your creation, that I may proclaim your goodness. Teach me to become perfect as you are
perfect, in all my ways.
May I, with your help, come to see and love in others your own image and likeness, especially
in those I find difficult. May my Lenten observance help me to enter into the dying and rising
Jesus, that I may experience and share with others your joy. Amen.
“A human life may sometimes look too short to be worth much, but God who sees the works of
his hands from the perspective of enduring love, clothes even the passing wild flowers with
splendor. We are only dust—but beloved dust.”

The Fast Life

Fast from judging others; feast on Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on speech that purifies.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; Feast on affirmatives.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on hope.
Fast from negatives; feast on encouragement.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from bitterness; Feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion for others.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from facts that depress; Feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; Feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; Feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; Feast on prayer that strengthens.
Fast from anxiety; feast on faith.