Ash Wednesday - It's about perspective

From Helen 

If you were asked to describe lent I wonder what you would say ? Maybe you would describe lent as a solemn time, a preparation time, a time of sacrifice, a time of doing something new. All of these would be great descriptions. 

Tonight I want to think of lent as a time of perspective. In order to do this I want to tell you on old Russian story about a famer called Bo-ham. Bo-ham was a poor man and one day he was sat with his family saying that their life would be better if they had more land, after all he said, if a man has land he has everything. A couple of days later he happened upon someone who offered him land very cheaply. He was able to afford the land, the family moved and did really well. All was great for a few years until one day when he was sat with his family Bo-ham said, that life would be better if they had  more land. After all he said if a man has land he has everything. A couple of days later he met someone who offered to sell him more land, he did this and this time the family did really well again and Bo-ham ended up at a very fancy meal with government officials. Whilst eating a general explained that he could get Bo-ham some even better land. Bo-ham agreed and went the next day to meet the general. 

When he met the general Bo-ham asked how much land was for sale and how much it would cost. The general explained that land sale was worked out by a day. Bo-ham was confused but the general explained that at the beginning of the day Bo-ham was to stand at the top of a particular hill make a mark with his spade and then walk for as far as he would like his land marking it on the way and then returning to the start point and so completing a circle of land by sunset. Bo-ham did this, he walked and walked. He saw that if he extended the circle by walking even further then he could have land where food would grow well. So he did this. Then he noticed that if he made the circle even wider he could have land that was even greener. He kept doing this and making his land bigger and bigger until he thought that he should start closing his circle. He started making his way back but as he did this he realised that he was tired so he stopped for a time, then started walking again, he kept walking and walking and suddenly realised that the hill where he began was further away than he thought, so he speeded up, he kept trying to get faster and faster and he started making his way up the hill and as the sun started to set he started running to complete the circle but then he collapsed with exhaustion, the sun set and he didn’t complete the circle. 

Bo-ham had lost his perspective. He was not happy unless he had more and more. Perspective can easily be lost. 

In Lent we have an ideal opportunity to make our perspective better. In lent we focus more and more on handing things over to God. 

Lent can be marked in lots of ways from praying more and so asking God to take control. We may also put money into a lent box and so we are offering our money to be used by others and allowing God control in that. Maybe we will give something up and this way we make a sacrifice to think of the sacrifices that God has made. Again offering ourselves up to God.

Lent is about perspective it is about remembering who we are before God and each other. It is about preparing ourselves for holy week and Easter by asking God to take control.

In our gospel reading (John 8:1-11) this evening we heard of the woman caught in adultery. The scribes and Pharisees put a test to Jesus how would He react to this woman. Surely, He would do the same as them and stone her? They tested Jesus to see how much He was prepared to keep the law. If He didn’t then they could have turned on Him and totally disregarded His teaching and in turn encouraged people to stop following this rogue teacher who went against the law. 

Jesus was in a difficult situation. His response was to take time. He didn’t answer straight away He started drawing in the sand. Can you imagine how frustrating that must have been? Jesus took time before responding. Maybe He was deliberately making things awkward, maybe He was praying, maybe He was thinking. I like to think that Jesus was stopping, stepping back from the situation and gaining perspective. 

His answer was amazing as He turned the question of sin right back onto the Pharisees and scribes. They of course then had to admit their sin. I wonder if this got them to stop for a moment and change their perspective? 

We have just remembered that we are dust and to dust we will return but we are to turn to Christ. Why, because He gives us perspective. Jesus puts us right. He who was without sin, took on our sin and if this doesn’t challenge us to get our perspectives in order I am not sure whatever can or will. 

Lent – a time to get our perspectives in order. A time to draw closer to God. A time for change. 

As we have confessed our sins, as we have turned to Jesus so we are starting again. Ash Wednesday has given us the opportunity to turn to God admitting that we aren’t perfect, admitting that we will always need more of Him. May we seek to draw closer to God to make sure that we keep everything in perspective and that everything is, that God has forgiven us and we need to keep turning to Him. AMEN