Ashes to Ashes

As I reflect upon Ash Wednesday, when many of us participated in the imposition of ashes upon our heads as a sign of repentance, I cannot help to feel both humbled and blessed. I have always found this service to be deeply powerful and humbling. It is a reminder that we have sinned and fallen short, that our lives are not what God intended, that we have more to learn and room to grow spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. The ashes upon our foreheads represent our repentance and our mortality, as we remember "that we are dust and to dust we shall return."

I do however, remember a distinct time growing up when ashes played a key role in my life (other than once a year at church). I grew up in old house built around 1880. It was a large house (think mock-Victorian) that was exceptionally drafty in the winter and thus exceptionally expensive to heat. My dad installed a wood-burning furnace to supplement the gas furnace in order to keep costs down. At an early age I learned how to split and stack wood through much practice. One of the by-products of burning large quantities of wood is accumulating large quantities of ashes. I will never forget the moment those ashes came to my rescue. I had gotten myself stuck in the ice and snow of our back alley. My '76 Buick Skylark was no match for 12 inches of snow and ice. My car was hopelessly stuck and all the pushing, pulling, pleading, and praying I could muster did nothing to alleviate my dilemma. I then remembered how my dad had once used ashes for traction in just such a situation. I raced to the basement, filled up a bucket of ashes, placed them under the car and I was soon unstuck. The ashes I thought were waste and of no value saved the day!

I wonder now if our lives in some ways are a lot like ashes. We go through times of great turmoil, stress, trauma, and pain. Many of us have been burned by broken relationships, betrayal, deception and deceit that our lives resemble a bucket of full of ash--used up, burned out, and left in a heap. What happens when we overcome and clogged up with the ashes of life? How can we be cleansed?

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. -Psalm 51

Psalm 51 is a favorite of mine and at times has functioned like a mantra. Whenever I feel overcome with negativity, filled with doubt and uncertainty, the words of the psalmist bring comfort and solace. Life is dirty, messy and painful. There is no way to avoid pain, disappointment, agony and suffering. What we need to be reminded of is our deep need to trust God to bring healing and wholeness to our lives. Christ is our rescue, our strength, our healer. God can clean the mess up, can restore our lives, and bring joy.

May the ashes of your life not hold you captive, but may they propel you to a new place of healing, wholeness, and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Contagious Energy

Have you ever known someone with contagious positive energy? The kind of person when you spend time with them you feel better? There are those whose mere presence has a way of lifting the spirits of all they meet. Such people are a true gift from God and we need more of them in our lives! My friend Tom Martin is one of these people in my life. He is always filled with energy and enthusiasm for life and has always lifted my spirit and mood. It is not really what Tom says or does that makes a difference, it is just...his presence.

I have thought about this idea of contagious positive a lot recently. I have been looking at the call stories of the early disciples. Jesus simply walks up to Peter, Andrew, John, James, Philip and simply says "follow me." (Mark 1:17; John 1:43) What I simply cannot get over is how basic and simple Jesus' words are, and yet how incredibly effective, as they all immediately leave their lives to follow Jesus. In fact, sometimes when Jesus calls a disciple to follow he not only says simple things he sometimes says truly bizarre things.

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ (John 1:47-49)

The story of Nathaniel is quite interesting on a number of levels, but his encounter with Jesus is particularly interesting. Nathaniel is brought to Jesus by a super-pumped and enthusiastic Philip (a key behavior of disciples--helping people encounter Jesus) and is initially quite skeptical of Jesus. When Jesus tells Nathaniel that he "saw him under the fig tree" Nathaniel confesses his faith in Jesus. Nathaniel becomes a believer/disciple because Jesus tells him he saw him under a fig tree? what? Why would this convince a skeptical Nathaniel? Wouldn't you want a bit more explanation and convincing?

The more I have thought about these stories the more I am convinced that it is really not what Jesus said that was important. There is something about an authentic experience of God that is beyond words, beyond description. I believe the first disciples knew who Jesus was not by the power of his words, but through the power of his presence. Jesus had supernatural spiritual energy that was contagious to all whom he encountered. When people met Jesus, and felt the presence of God, they knew everything they needed to know.

Many of us have had "God moments" that are integral to our faith, moments which define our relationship with God, moments which define our lives. These moments are encounters with the crucified and risen Christ, encounters that transform lives, encounters which are beyond words. I have had these God moments and been so filled up with God's love, grace, and presence that I could not help but to share it. When I share my God moments with others, my words often fall short and fail to convey the energy and enthusiasm I intended.

All this brings me back to Philip and Tom Martin. We know that God has freely poured out love and grace and hope in our lives. We know God has given us this gift to share with the world. We also know that it is not the power of our words which will be compelling, but the power of our presence. If we could have a contagious spirit of God, and help people encounter Jesus we could make a huge impact in our world.

The question of the day is: how do we get contagious positive energy? And once we get it, how do we keep it?

For me, my spiritual energy comes from being connected to God. When I feel connected to God, my energy and enthusiasm for sharing Jesus goes way up. When I feel disconnected to God, spiritually dry and used up I have no energy at all. I have found when I take regular time to have deep discussions about faith, mission, church, and what God is up to I am re-energized and excited to share myself as Philip does.

Do you have a contagious positive energy for God?

What feeds your spirit? What re-energizes you spiritually?
Do you take regular time to get energized?