A Season for Returning

by Pastor Kathy Barlow-Westmoreland

This week's focus scripture is Joel 2:1-2, 12-17.

None of us likes doing it. We hide things, we ignore things, we pretend we didn’t see or hear. We make excuses. We point fingers. We rationalize. Sometimes we even stretch the truth or omit certain parts. Because none of us likes exposing our imperfections- at least certain ones. None of us want to admit we are wrong. How many times have we thought, if not said, “I’m not telling him about this- what he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.” Oh, there are shortcomings that we will readily admit, almost with pride, almost as a challenge, as if to say- just try and change me, this is just the way I am. Stubbornness, opinionated, impatient, biases, inability to do something that you really don’t care to learn. We all have those. I am technologically challenged and there are days I know I say it so that I do not have to go to the trouble to learn. It is so much easier for one of my techno-savvy friends to come to my rescue. I readily admit this.

But, if you were to point out a shortcoming that I certainly know about but don’t want others to see, that is a whole other matter. There are things that cut to the heart of who we are- honesty, perhaps; or compassion. Relationships- friendships, family- can be complicated things and we know we don’t always do them well, but admitting that we have not been the best sister or uncle, or the most caring brother or niece- that is hard for us. And if someone were to actually say to us, what you are doing is wrong- even if deep down we at least have our own doubts if we don’t already know it, we will quickly take the defensive.

Perhaps that is why Lent is the most unpopular season of the church year. Oh we can really get into Advent- why we even have an Event just to decorate for it- it is festive and full of anticipation and hope. Eastertide leading to Pentecost- that is full of new life and joy. Even the ordinary time in summer is fun, following Jesus in his ministry- while he feeds thousands on the hillside or confronts the religious authorities. But Lent…we drape the dark purple and turn our eyes to the cross. And we begin this season with the words- we are dust and to dust we shall return. We are marked with a sign of our failure- that ashen cross, an outward sign of the inward smudge on our souls. Combine this with gray skies and piled up snow and it is a sure combination for a depressed spirit.

Frankly, there are enough critical voices out there- enough messages that tell us how we just don’t measure up. From ads that tell us that we would be better parents if we bought a different peanut butter to Dr. Phil who wants to fix all our relationships. From the venomous voices we hear on news channels and from our own politicians to cruelty shown among co-workers and classmates. From all directions there are those who want to tell us how if we only did this or bought that our life would be so much easier, and we would be such better people. Why when we already have enough voices to tell us what is wrong with us, would we intentionally go into an entire six weeks of it?

Perhaps it is precisely because we have been battered by the world, and still struggle with our failures, that God issues the invitation- even now, in the midst of your shortcomings, return to me with your whole heart- fast, weep, beat your breasts. Get it out of your system. Cleanse yourself of it. But don’t tear your clothes- rather tear open your hearts, and turn back to God. That is the invitation- to let all out on the table- the stuff you readily acknowledge and the stuff you don’t want anyone to know. The things you have done and the things you have failed to do. The words you have spoken and cannot take back and the silence you held when something should have been said. Put it all out there- open your heart and let it flow from you.

Tear open your heart, and allow God’s compassion and grace, God’s faithfulness and persistence to enter. You see, this isn’t just another voice tearing at the fabric of who we are. It is a voice saying, you are mine. Together we can try again. Together we can start over. But this time let’s go together. Because we are loved- more than we can imagine, more than we dare to believe.

So, yes, this cross of dust is indeed an outward sign of what we seek to cleanse from us, the smudges deep within. But when we say we are dust, this is not to say we are nothing- it is to say, that it was from the very dust that God breathed life into us- dust being the reminder that we are part of God’s beloved creation. It is this dust that is part of what makes us living beings and it is that dust to which we will return one day.

Take a moment and think for yourself. What smudges on your heart are represented by the smudge on your forehead? Now is the time to respond to God’s invitation to return with your whole heart, to let it all out, to tear open your heart to the healing and reconciling power of God’s grace. This is the season for returning. Amen.

St. John's Westminster Union Church
1085 Neeb Rd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45233
(513) 347-4613