Why should it be said among the peoples,“Where is their God?
ASH WEDNESDAY
Texts: Psalm 51; Joel 2:12-17; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Have you heard the song, I’d give you my heart, but who’d pump all that blood? It does sound like the title of an old country song. Actually, it was joke title, I think in Mad Magazine, a long time ago.
We all know that when we talk of the heart, it is obvious when we are talking of the physical, or when we have a symbolic meaning. Or is it so obvious? That Mad Magazine joke was written before heart transplants were possible. We know that various factors can hinder or help heart health.
I am intrigued by the short phrase from our Old Testament lesson, Why should it be said of the peoples, “Where is their God?” The prophet spoke at a time of great crises – a time of political turmoil, a time when drought and insects destroyed the food supply. The prophet saw a connection between faithlessness of the people and the crises in the world surrounding them. The prophet is thinking of what outsiders would ask. They would ask of people who claimed some religious affiliation, where is their God?
Recent studies of religious attitudes in our country today suggest more and more people are asking that very question. In our world, religion is associated with terrorism. In our nation, religion is easily associated with single issue, divisive politics. It is hard for the seeker who wants to believe to ask, Where is their god? It is easy for the cynic who has no desire to believe to sneer, Where is their god? . With all that is going on in the world, with all that comes connected to religion, folks ask, Where is their god? And the challenge to us is to know how to answer.
We can answer, God is unseen, but everywhere. Well, that’s just great. We can see the cruelty and injustice, the suffering and inhumanity. So what about God?
As we enter this season leading to our Lord’s death and resurrection, we want to think specifically how to address that question. To be sure, wanting to see God requires eyes of faith. At the same time, those who want to be followers of Jesus can point to places where we can experience God.
The Bible does talk a lot about the heart. The physiology in the Bible may not be as precise as our knowledge. It was not known what caused the body to be animated, to be alive. Over time various experiments tried to isolate the specific organ of the body that made it alive. Even today, we know how intertwined are the systems of the body. The experience of a broken heart may have, not just emotional symptoms, but physical as well.
The point I would suggest is that when we speak of the human heart, we are dealing with something powerful and mysterious. We are touching on the core of what makes us human.
On this Ash Wednesday, we pray the ancient prayer; Create in me a clean heart, O God. We listen to Jesus talking about the significance of inward attitude. We all have seen someone whose actions may have been nice, but whose inward attitude made it worthless or worse. Maybe we recognize that we, too, have let inner attitude deny the intent of our actions.
If we were to be asked, where is God, the answer – in order to be authentic – needs to begin, God dwells in my heart. I will not deny the difficulty of saying that. Doubts of our own often persist. Awareness of our own failures may make us feel hypocritical. Even so, the reality of God’s existence greatly depends on our heart.
I invite you to consider the words of confession we will be using as a way to un-clutter your heart. I invite you to consider the mark of ashes as a sign saying there is room in your heart – a vacancy, even – for our savior. I invite you to consider the bread and wine we will receive as our Lord Jesus creating a feast within us, so that we can say with humble confidence: I know it is at times difficult to see God, but I know that Jesus, the son of God, dwells in my heart.
