Ash Wednesday
9 March 2011
Rev. Jon C. Olson

Think of all the billions of people that God has created. Then think about how intimately concerned He is with each and every one of us. The Lord individually created you and everything you have. He has given you your body and soul your eyes and ears and all your other body parts. He has given you your ability to think, and your ability touch, taste, smell, see and hear. And He still takes care of your ability to do all these things. YOU, are what He created. Everything that you have comes from God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And not only that, God also defends you against all danger to body and soul. He guards and protects you individually from all sorts of evil. Why is God this way? Because of His fatherly mercy and goodness. That’s it! There is no other reason than ONLY because of His fatherly divine mercy and goodness!

And what do you and I often times do in response to what God has freely given to us? We are not satisfied being the human being He’s created. There is always something more that we want to get or something less that we want to get rid of. We all want more control over our lives, more decision making power in what happens to us. To control our own destiny! Ultimately what we want is to fear, love, and trust in ourselves above all things. So much for the Father Who created us and still preserves us. We are so curved in on and focused on what we want which makes each of us like unto our own little idols or gods. A GOD UNTO YOURSELF! And so, just like Adam and Eve, we run around pretending to be like God making ourselves gods. And once God’s word catches up to us and accuses us as the phonies and frauds, we end up running away and hiding from God! We don’t want the Lord to find us because He’ll know what we are up to. Deep down even we all know that He already knows what we are up to. So we stay away from Him and His Word of judgment and condemnation. Because if He does find us out…well…our little game of charades might come to an end.

So the Lord sends a pastor. We’ll call him Pastor Joel. Pastor Joel comes to you with the Lord’s words. So when you hear Joel speaking—you are hearing the Lord Himself through the words He speaks on behalf of the Lord. Through these words from God you are then in a face to face confrontation with the Lord and what He wants, as Joel speaks the Lord’s words to you.

Pastor Joel doesn’t mess around. No small talk or compliments to be exchanged. No talk about the weather today. He goes right to the heart of the matter. And what’s that? Your relationship with the Lord. Or, probably better said–the Lord’s relationship with you! This catches all sinners off their guard.

When the Lord says “Return to me,” He means “repent!” Turn from your sinful idolatry of self. Turn away from your wicked ways of doing and thinking. Repent of your self—seeking self-centered—ness. Turn off from the path you were heading down and take the fork in the road, the Road Less Travelled. For the path you and I often times head down is the often travelled road to damnation. Now it’s time to go a different way. To chart a new course—the path of salvation. That is what God means when He says, “Return to me with all your heart.” Only a new heart, a clean heart is able to confess with all its heart: “I’m a filthy, rotten, sinner, corrupt to the core. I have sinned against you Lord. I have done what is evil in your sight. I have lived only for myself. I have not loved you Lord, or my neighbor as I should. I really only love myself. I’m so, so self-absorbed with my desires and my control. I deserve nothing but your temporal and eternal punishment.”

That’s so true. Finally, the truth comes out. It’s about time. The Lord has shined the lamp of His Word into the light of our darkness. We are sinners. And what we deserve from the Lord frightens the you know what out of us. We’re scared …
But now we come to the biggest question, the biggest issue in your life, both now and forever. It’s the eternal life or death question. Who do you turn to? What will God do with you, His creature that has rebelled; His creature that runs away and hides; will He damn you as you deserve? Only if YOU insist on it.

But the Lord’s most deep and abiding desire is to hand out His “mercy.” God does not want to give you what you deserve. That Old Testament Prophet, Pastor Joel emphatically proclaims to you this day: “Return to the LORD your God.” the Father Almighty the maker of heaven and earth! He who created you waits with His arms wide open! “Return! Repent!” Why? Because the Lord, “is gracious and compassionate. Slow to anger. Abounding in steadfast love.”

The Lord isn’t who we and most people think! All along we believe falsely about Him. We are fearful that He was only out to get you. That He couldn’t wait to get in your face and give you a piece of His mind for not doing this or that or for doing this or that whatever followed with a quick and decisive giving you precisely what you deserve. But none of that with the Lord! He’s overflowing with love for you! The very person He created.

The Lord’s quick and decisive action for most of you took place when your pastor splashed some water on your head and spoke the name of the Triune God over you. God’s greatest desire is “mercy” not condemnation. And God doesn’t just wind you up like a doll at baptism and then let you on your own. He sticks with you—His creature—through thick and thin. He’s in this relationship with you for the long haul. See there, on the cross? Jesus hangs for your sins. See there on the Altar? Jesus comes to you for your sins. He remains faithful. Ever—faithful. Forever—faithful. Just as He’s promised.

But what about God’s anger and His judgment? Where did all that go? Well, it didn’t just disappear. It is still there. And if YOU are not on the receiving end of damnation for your sin, who got stuck with it?

The answer is: JESUS. Who took on our human flesh? Was conceived and born without sin, of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary Jesus: YOUR suffering Servant. Who willingly endured all of God’s damning wrath as he hung suspended between heaven and earth! Stapled to the Tree of Calvary!

It is difficult to think of the crucifixion that way. Jesus damned? Jesus condemned? Yes. Absolutely. Because He who knew no sin was made to be sin as He was numbered with the common criminals. There at Calvary—He carried all your sin. The world’s sin. In His body. He made satisfaction and answered for all of it. He left none out. Laid upon Him were the iniquities of the world! And when all your sin was heaped on Jesus, God’s Ten Commandments came thundering down upon Him and judged Jesus, saying: “You must die! You Who are full of sin, You are cursed – damned!”

And in a way not of this world there is GREAT JOY because of this! God the Father damns Jesus as the “greatest thief, murderer, adulterer, robber, desecrator, blasphemer, idolator, foul mouth, gossiper, etc, that there has ever been anywhere in the world.” Jesus clothed and wrapped Himself in your sin on the Cross. It all belongs to Him. Your sin is His. He took it away from you so that the Law of God would attack and kills Him instead of you, as your substitute.

And since all your sin is laid on Him—it is no longer on you! Jesus dies—He is damned—as the guilty one—with all your sin! And so, for Jesus’ sake, you are forgiven; absolved from all your sin and set free from all its damnation. Jesus has done the salvation job! All for YOU.

So, “return to the LORD your God.” Why? “Because He is gracious and compassionate. He is slow to anger. And He abounds (overflows) with love.” That’s Who Jesus is and what Jesus does. The Good Friday Jesus dies for you. The Good Friday Jesus sheds His sacrificial Blood on the Cross in order to answer for all your sin and its damnation. The Good Friday Jesus who says to you this Ash Wednesday the beginning of Lent: “Eat and drink. Do you see that bread? It’s my Body. Do you see that cup? It’s my Blood. The Good Friday Body and Blood that answered for all your sin.”

What a great way to kick of Lent! What a God! The complete opposite of what you would expect. Mercy! Total and complete forgiveness, life and salvation in Christ through Jesus body and blood. For sinners only! That’s for YOU and for ME!

Return to the LORD your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding is in love.
In the Name of Jesus.