Finding Faith ... in vowing to walk a little straighter in Jesus' footsteps

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodical authorized minister. The journey together these past seven years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2025.

The gospel text for Ash Wednesday: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Concerning Almsgiving

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “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. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Concerning Prayer

5 “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. 6 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.

The message:

Faith Family … three years ago, on this very night, Ash Wednesday, I made a prediction standing at this podium that seems to continue to come back to haunt me year after year after.

It had been a long tough winter that winter too, filled with the ups and downs of what is becoming a constant whiplash news cycle … and based on the current events of that day … I naively uttered these words: I can’t ever imagine experiencing another Ash Wednesday like this one.

Well, based on my track record these past few Ash Wednesdays, I think I’m going to hang up my prognostication shoes.

But on a serious note, it seems that Lent couldn’t be taking place at a more appropriate time than it is now.

Just as the world as we know it seems to be burning down around us, we are called to pause for these next several weeks in reflection and preparation of Easter, for Christ’s resurrection. The pinnacle of our faith calendar!

Already expected to be a somber time in which Christians take time to reflect on the events that led up to Jesus’ death, ask for forgiveness, practice self-control, be reminded of our mortality, imitate Christ’s sacrifices through our own and also to give alms, this year Lent is an excellent opportunity for us also to put the larger happenings in society into context. 

After all, it’s hard to accuse others of being unchristlike when we understand how we ourselves are complicit in Christ’s crucifixion …

… and easier to offer others forgiveness when we’re seeking forgiveness ourselves … 

… and maybe civil dialogue is more possible if we’re exerting our own self-control while our neighbors do the same … 

… and by giving to others, through time or treasures, maybe we can be reminded of just how fortunate we are, and thus our worldviews may be shifted.

And finally -- and this is a biggie -- if we confront our own mortality, sometimes the more trivial matters that we find dividing us seem to melt away.

Trust me: As your pastor, one of the most sobering tasks I engage in is to smudge your forehead, while looking you in the eyes and telling you that you are going to die. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons we endure this exercise is to help us faithful people reorient our priorities.

And our current climate seems as good of a time as any to do a little of that -- reorienting our priorities.

Maybe this Lent it would be healthier rather to reflect on Jesus’ death, ask for forgiveness, practice self-control, contemplate our own mortality, sacrifice like Jesus and to give wherever and however we can. 

In a little while, you will proceed from your pews up here where I will affix a cross on your forehead made of ashes. I will utter the words to you “John … Remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

So we already come to worship tonight expecting a somber tone. … But then again, it seems that there is so much more around us this year that reminds us of our inevitable mortality.

War, societal discord, financial instability. The list is long, and it seems that it’s always in our faces. … We cannot get away from it in this hyper-charged time of instantaneous information.

It’s enough to make one want to stay bunkered in at home, draw the curtains, turn off all of the electronics and grab a good book.

Maybe that would be enough to shut out the world that wants to continue to remind us about the fragility of our lives, about our inevitable immortality.

Faith Family, I know that some of you have worries about where we are in this world, in this particular time and space and environment. Maybe you are more than a little concerned about the state of affairs.

So what I would like to share with you is that: Yes, we do gather together tonight to pay witness to the recognition of our own mortality.

And, yes, we gather to begin 40 days of reflection on Jesus’ impending crucifixion … but at the same time, it reminds us that at the end of those 40 days, there is Easter, the day that Jesus rose from his tomb.

Tonight, we are reminded that after the conclusion of Ash Wednesday, and the Lenten period to follow, we will arrive at Easter, our most joyful day of the Christian calendar.

Lent is a season of 40 days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word “lencten,” which means "spring."

And the 40 days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry, a period in which Satan did not win.

So, as we gather tonight, under many clouds brewing on the horizon, we need to remind ourselves that this self-introspective path that we will walk for the next six weeks is to remind us that while we live in darkness much of the time, the sun always comes in the morning.

This Lenten path, especially in this year of suffering and strife, is a chance to focus on what is at the end of this journey.

It gives us the opportunity to remember that yes, while we accept the ashes to be placed on our foreheads tonight, we also look with glee to Easter morning when Jesus will rise from his grave, and we will be able to sing, “He is risen! He is Risen! … Allelujah, he is risen indeed!”

Faith Family, Ash Wednesday also is a time for us to reflect on our own sinful nature and to ask for repentance for how we have wronged others. … And for me, I find comfort in that this year. … Maybe that seems weird to you.

But here is my thought process …

It is true that I can do little to change much of the vast and deadly events that are taking place around the world today. … And admittedly, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by that.

But … what I can do is to ask God for forgiveness for my own wrongs against others, and then seek repentance, which actually means a change in my own ways. … Not just cheap repentance.

Maybe, on this Ash Wednesday, while so many issues that bring us death rage on … maybe … just maybe … what might bring me even just a little peace and comfort is fully repenting and changing my ways so that I am truly walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Maybe if I don’t focus on all of the world’s problems -- or even this country’s problems -- but I instead focus on my own actions, my own ways of following Christ, then maybe this world will start to feel a little less scary, and that I’ll be able to focus on the joy that we’ll all feel in another 40 days.

Faith Family, if you are experiencing more grief than you have in past years on Ash Wednesday, I will not downplay that. … I know that you are not alone. 

But I also think that God gives us a way out of that grief and worry and anxiety … and that is through asking forgiveness and seeking a change in our behavior -- which is what true repentance is.

No, you cannot solely heal the divisive political wounds in this country.

But you can ask for forgiveness tonight, and truly repent and then walk a little straighter in the footsteps of Jesus. And maybe that will bring you a little more hope and a little closer to that jubilee that will take place on Easter.

And maybe that is all that we can ask as faithful followers this Ash Wednesday.