Practice Makes Holy

Practice Makes Holy

Ash Wednesday is an anti-“Hallmark holiday.”  Hallmark doesn't even sell an Ash Wednesday card.  Perhaps they don’t know what to put on the card.  Here’s my idea – “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” 

Okay, you’re thinking that this sounds pretty lame, just some trite expression of pop psychology.  However, it captures the spirituality of Ash Wednesday and Lent.  It keeps us from dwelling in the past, re-hashing all the what-ifs in our lives that we cannot possibly change.  Instead, we are brought into the reality of today, where we can still decide to do something that may actually affect not only today, but the rest of our lives, and not only our earthly lives, but our eternal lives to come.

As Christians who believe in an all-loving, all-forgiving God, at some point we are going to be faced with a major decision.  We will have to decide if we truly believe that God is the source of all happiness and we wish to spend eternity wallowing in that bliss, or if we think we can make our own happiness and we don’t really need God, so thanks, but no thanks, I’ll do it myself.  This is the choice of heaven or hell.  The ashes we receive today remind us that this decision lies ahead of us.

Sad to say, I’ve often chosen hell.  For example, I easily take pride in my accomplishments, blind to God’s providence.  The earthly satisfactions that I have been able to procure – ample food, nice house and car, the latest toys, etc., etc., - can make the eternal happiness of God seem irrelevant.  Why do I need God if I’ve built such a nice life for myself?

I almost reflexively seek vengeance on those who have hurt me, denying the universal and unconditional love of God.  I put aside the protection and power of the infinite and almighty God in favor of my own meager defenses.

I need Lent.  By turning me to that final decision, Lent makes me see that my choices today are simply practice for that final, eternal decision.  It reminds me that when I am confronted with that final decision, I am likely to make the same decision I’ve been practicing for all my life.  If I live close to God today – the life of holiness that God calls each of us to – I are more likely to respond favorably to God’s call at that final judgment.  If I ignore God’s call today, why should I believe my decision will change when I am called that final time?

From ancient times, prayer, fasting and almsgiving have been three practices which have helped people to turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel, experiencing and appreciating God’s holiness.

Prayer is obvious.  If we are in communication with God, laying our needs before him, thanking him for His blessings in our lives, praising him for his glory, or simply putting ourselves in his presence and listening, we cannot help but be affected by and drawn towards God.

Almsgiving allows us to share God’s love with others, turning us away from our own needs to meet what is often a much greater need of others.  Jesus places great importance on service to others, most poignantly when Jesus equates our service to the poor with service to God – When I was hungry, you gave me food, when I was thirsty, you gave me drink, etc.

It is not as obvious, but fasting is another holy practice.  By consciously foregoing something which gives us earthly pleasure, we are changed.  We recognize that even in that pleasure’s absence, life goes on.  The important things remain.  By consciously denying ourselves, we gain empathy for those who don’t have the choice of denying themselves, for they have so little of their own to deny.  And by denying ourselves for even a short time, we become more appreciative of the gifts we have received from God.

The genius of Lent is that it is only forty days long.  We can see the end.  Unlike a New Year’s resolution which seemingly has no end, and therefore ends rather quickly, a Lenten resolution is only for forty days.  We can do that!  Unlike a New Year’s resolution which typically focuses improving our physical health or wealth and is dependent on our own discipline, a Lenten resolution is about living God’s call to holiness, and has His grace and power behind it.  Thus, Lenten resolutions, with God’s help, transform us, turning us from self-centered, pleasure and power-seeking creatures into God-centered beings called to holiness.

Practice prayer.  Practice almsgiving.  Practice fasting.  Start today, the first day of the rest of your life.