WEBVTT 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:05.179 Once again, welcome to the Ash Wednesday service, Church of the Advent. 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:07.379 It's good to be here with you. 00:00:07.940 --> 00:00:10.040 Excuse me, I'm going to grab a quick drink of water. 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:12.200 It's great to see you midweek. 00:00:12.380 --> 00:00:14.740 We usually have to wait a whole week to see one another again, 00:00:14.859 --> 00:00:16.640 so it's really great to be here together. 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:22.460 And I want to start off my shorter sermon. 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:24.480 It's going to be shorter than a Sunday morning. 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:28.440 With telling you something about myself that might sound a little bit strange. 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:33.340 It's not really a confession, I guess, but it may be a bit odd. 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:36.660 Ash Wednesday is actually one of my most favorite days in the church calendar. 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:38.640 Don't get me wrong, I love Advent. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.840 And I love sort of the magic that goes along with Christmas. 00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:43.460 And I definitely love Easter. 00:00:44.200 --> 00:00:46.439 But I really like Ash Wednesday. 00:00:46.620 --> 00:00:47.340 That might be strange. 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:50.280 I've only been a pastor for like four months officially now. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:52.240 So I don't know if that's an unusual thing with pastors. 00:00:52.460 --> 00:00:54.579 But I haven't been to the job that long. 00:00:54.900 --> 00:00:55.460 But I like it. 00:00:55.460 --> 00:00:59.079 And the reason why I like it is because, I don't know if I would say I love, 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.359 but I appreciate contemplating and thinking about and reflecting on death. 00:01:05.519 --> 00:01:06.460 Mostly my own death. 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:12.420 And I do this in a number of ways, big ways and major inflection points in my life. 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:15.719 And then just in like the weekly, daily rhythms of my life. 00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:19.939 So every Sunday morning, we still get the paper delivered to our house. 00:01:20.099 --> 00:01:21.179 Just on Sundays, though. 00:01:21.539 --> 00:01:22.679 And I read the obituary section. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.879 And I think about the people who have died and the things that are written about them. 00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.439 And what I would like written about me when I do die. 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:35.359 I've made it a habit over the course of the past 10 or 15 years to visit cemeteries. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.620 We do this, my wife and I do this pretty regularly. 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:40.379 But especially in major inflection points. 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:44.539 So about 13 years ago, my wife Susan and I got engaged. 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:45.600 I proposed in Venice. 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:46.280 It was wonderful. 00:01:47.160 --> 00:01:48.760 The next day, there's this. 00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:50.200 I don't know if any of you have been to Venice before. 00:01:50.300 --> 00:01:50.860 But there's this. 00:01:50.980 --> 00:01:52.540 It's sort of like a floating cemetery. 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:55.400 Right across a canal in Venice. 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:57.040 So we went there the day after. 00:01:57.080 --> 00:01:57.920 It's very romantic, right? 00:01:57.940 --> 00:02:00.620 The day after getting engaged and walked around and looked at the tombstones. 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:03.380 And we thought, okay, we have our life in front of us. 00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:04.560 What do we want our life to be about? 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:06.360 What do we want to have written on our gravestones? 00:02:07.880 --> 00:02:09.140 We've been married for 10 years. 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:12.159 And we went and did a trip this past summer in Paris. 00:02:12.640 --> 00:02:13.680 And we did the same thing. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:14.620 We sort of took stock. 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:15.780 Okay, how are we doing? 00:02:16.480 --> 00:02:18.379 Are we living our lives the way we want to? 00:02:18.580 --> 00:02:22.980 And cemeteries are places where it's just very rich for me to think about these things. 00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:28.159 And the past five years, before we moved to Princeton, I was, before I moved to D.C., 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:29.760 I was living in Princeton for five years. 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:33.980 And I lived really close to a pretty famous cemetery. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:36.159 Jonathan Edwards, if you've heard his name. 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:37.400 He's a theologian and pastor. 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:38.040 He's buried there. 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:41.859 And I lived close enough that I would walk through the graveyard every single morning. 00:02:42.179 --> 00:02:44.139 I would put my leash on my dog. 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:47.979 And I would say to my dog, Lewis, okay, Lewis, let's go for a walk and remind ourselves that 00:02:47.979 --> 00:02:48.680 we're going to die. 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:51.120 And I literally would do this. 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:52.239 I would say that to my dog. 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:56.500 And this was sort of my daily memento mori, the daily reminder that I'm going to die. 00:02:56.799 --> 00:02:58.879 And it would shape how I lived my life. 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:02.899 The reason I like thinking about death, I think, is not because I want to die. 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:05.159 Although the past two weeks, I've been pretty sick. 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:08.800 And I don't know if I said, I wouldn't say I wanted to die, but I definitely want it to 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:10.620 be like removed from my body a little bit. 00:03:11.420 --> 00:03:12.340 But I don't want to die. 00:03:12.420 --> 00:03:13.240 I definitely don't want to die. 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:15.640 And I'm not a particularly morbid person. 00:03:15.640 --> 00:03:18.780 I think death makes me sad, like it makes everybody else sad. 00:03:19.420 --> 00:03:25.580 The reason why I appreciate thinking about death is because when I face the reality of 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:27.319 death, it just helps me live better. 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:32.719 I find that contemplating death is incredibly useful for channeling my attention, getting rid of 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.680 distractions, and asking the right questions. 00:03:36.539 --> 00:03:40.419 And this whole line of thinking reminds me of one of my favorite poems by Mary Oliver, 00:03:40.979 --> 00:03:42.340 a poet who died a few months ago. 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:47.400 Her great poem, The Summer Day It Ends, with these last three lines reflecting on death 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:47.620 here. 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:51.280 She writes, doesn't everything die at last and too soon? 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:56.460 And thinking about that, that everything dies too soon, she then says, asks the question, 00:03:57.099 --> 00:04:01.079 tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:07.580 And so on this cold Ash Wednesday evening, we're going to reflect on something that will 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:08.480 warm our souls a little bit. 00:04:08.540 --> 00:04:09.800 We're going to reflect on death. 00:04:10.340 --> 00:04:14.520 And what I want to do tonight is reframe how we ought to think about death and how we ought 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:15.780 to think about dying. 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:17.620 So today is Ash Wednesday. 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:20.139 It's the beginning of the season of Lent. 00:04:20.379 --> 00:04:22.819 Lent is a 40-day season, excluding Sundays. 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:27.480 That mimics Jesus' 40-day fast in the wilderness. 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:32.579 And Lent functions as a time of intense spiritual exercise or training. 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:34.800 I like to think of it as sort of a spiritual boot camp. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:37.339 And it helps us to get in shape, in spiritual shape. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:38.899 And it does so in two ways. 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:41.199 And we need to hold these two things in tension. 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:43.199 First, it reminds us of something. 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:44.579 And secondly, it resources us. 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:46.399 It reminds us that we're going to die. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:48.759 It reminds us that we're going to die. 00:04:49.359 --> 00:04:54.519 That sin, our complicity in sin, is so severe that we're going to die because of it. 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.459 We're reminded that the wages of sin is death. 00:04:58.819 --> 00:05:00.579 But Lent also resources us. 00:05:01.159 --> 00:05:09.099 It resources us with practices to leverage death, to use death as a tool, to basically 00:05:09.099 --> 00:05:15.739 use death in our spiritual tool belt, as it were, that can serve us and God's purposes 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:16.680 in our lives. 00:05:16.900 --> 00:05:21.879 Lent is a time to practice dying so that we might actually live lives worthy of the gospel. 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:24.480 So this evening, I want to ask two questions together. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.860 Those questions are, why is death a part of our story? 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:30.920 And secondly, how should we approach death? 00:05:31.180 --> 00:05:31.860 So let's pray together. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:39.019 Our Father, we're grateful to be here together, gathered as brothers and sisters. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:44.879 I pray that you would help us to contemplate death, Christ's death, our death. 00:05:45.740 --> 00:05:51.460 In order that we might see more clearly the glory of the resurrection and anticipate it 00:05:51.460 --> 00:05:53.720 and live into it by your spirit. 00:05:54.280 --> 00:05:55.720 I pray these things in Christ's name. 00:05:56.680 --> 00:05:59.220 So the first question, why is death a part of our story? 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:08.220 And I want to read a quote from an author named Ernest Becker from The Denial of Death. 00:06:08.220 --> 00:06:12.380 This book won the Pulitzer Prize like two weeks after he died. 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:13.520 Kind of ironic, I guess. 00:06:13.880 --> 00:06:18.820 But the quote that I'm going to read gets at the real existential crisis of death. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:20.300 Why death is such an issue. 00:06:20.380 --> 00:06:21.700 Why it feels so wrong. 00:06:22.540 --> 00:06:25.360 He writes this in The Denial of Death. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:26.699 This is the terror. 00:06:27.340 --> 00:06:29.040 To have emerged from nothing. 00:06:29.580 --> 00:06:30.800 To have a name. 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:32.560 Consciousness of self. 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:33.960 Deep inner feelings. 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:36.600 And excruciating inner life. 00:06:36.960 --> 00:06:39.319 Inner yearning for life and self-expression. 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:41.819 And with all this yet die. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:43.840 It seems like a hoax. 00:06:44.699 --> 00:06:49.540 Which is why one type of cultural man rebels openly against the idea of God. 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:54.800 What kind of deity would create such complex and fancy worm food? 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:57.319 Cynical deities, said the Greeks. 00:06:57.520 --> 00:07:00.340 Who use man's torments for their own amusement. 00:07:01.580 --> 00:07:05.560 I think as Christians, we can agree with much of what Ernest Becker writes here. 00:07:06.020 --> 00:07:06.820 Death is wrong. 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:08.520 It is wrong. 00:07:09.280 --> 00:07:12.020 Death is the reversal of God's intention for creation. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:14.620 It's not the way it's supposed to be. 00:07:14.700 --> 00:07:17.520 And what I want us to think about in terms of death this evening. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.939 Is death as disintegration. 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:21.740 Death as disintegration. 00:07:22.539 --> 00:07:24.519 And this idea of death as disintegration. 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:26.599 Is captured in the grave reminder. 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:30.039 Of the words that Tommy and I will say. 00:07:30.219 --> 00:07:32.099 When we put ashes on your forehead. 00:07:32.219 --> 00:07:33.419 Remember you are dust. 00:07:33.819 --> 00:07:35.039 And to dust you shall return. 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:36.219 We'll do that in a few minutes. 00:07:36.899 --> 00:07:40.339 The first thing I want to point out about this reminder. 00:07:41.039 --> 00:07:43.680 Is that the real indictment of this sobering reminder. 00:07:44.099 --> 00:07:46.079 Is not the fact that we are dust. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:46.120 Dust. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:47.979 It's not bad to be dust. 00:07:48.039 --> 00:07:48.919 According to the scriptures. 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:51.959 God formed man from the dust of the earth. 00:07:52.159 --> 00:07:54.339 The first mention of dust is Genesis 2.7. 00:07:54.419 --> 00:07:55.139 Before the fall. 00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:56.620 And it reads this way. 00:07:56.759 --> 00:07:59.259 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground. 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:01.759 And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 00:08:02.339 --> 00:08:04.519 And the man became a living creature. 00:08:05.219 --> 00:08:07.459 You see human beings were made from the dust. 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:09.240 And creatures made from the dust. 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:11.000 Were the crown of God's creation. 00:08:11.539 --> 00:08:13.879 We were crowned with glory and honor. 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:15.579 Creatures made from dust. 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:16.759 Psalm 8 puts it. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.439 The divine image was crafted from dust. 00:08:20.519 --> 00:08:22.159 And it's part of the goodness of creation. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:24.600 That was consummated with a benediction. 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:26.240 In fact it is very good. 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:27.300 God says. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:28.659 To be made from dust. 00:08:29.719 --> 00:08:31.719 So being made from dust is not a bad thing. 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:32.399 It's not a tragedy. 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:33.820 The tragedy of Ash Wednesday. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:36.279 Is the second part of the phrase. 00:08:36.659 --> 00:08:39.139 It's the reminder that to dust we shall return. 00:08:39.139 --> 00:08:42.799 This means that order regresses to chaos. 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:45.039 Disintegration is happening. 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:47.639 It is the reminder that we're going to die. 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:48.740 And of course. 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:52.019 Death refers to the physical disintegration of our bodies. 00:08:52.019 --> 00:08:53.500 Our bodies breaking down. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:57.059 But the physical death that we will all experience. 00:08:57.620 --> 00:09:01.779 Is really a symptom of a graver dimension of disintegration. 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:04.720 Physical death isn't the worst part of sin. 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:06.819 Well what is? 00:09:06.820 --> 00:09:10.260 The worst part of sin is the spiritual and relational breakdown. 00:09:10.400 --> 00:09:11.100 That results of it. 00:09:11.640 --> 00:09:13.080 So in Genesis 1 and 2. 00:09:13.160 --> 00:09:13.780 We didn't read it. 00:09:13.860 --> 00:09:15.160 But this is how the Bible begins. 00:09:15.780 --> 00:09:19.420 We see God is depicted as a God who brings order out of chaos. 00:09:19.700 --> 00:09:20.840 He divides things. 00:09:20.920 --> 00:09:22.120 And he organizes things. 00:09:22.580 --> 00:09:24.260 And then he creates human beings. 00:09:24.260 --> 00:09:26.240 To take over where he left off. 00:09:26.280 --> 00:09:27.640 To represent him in the world. 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:30.260 Human beings are entrusted with the care. 00:09:30.680 --> 00:09:31.220 The stewardship. 00:09:31.400 --> 00:09:32.360 The love of creation. 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:34.460 We're to act like God would. 00:09:35.020 --> 00:09:35.940 As his representatives. 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:37.960 That's what it means to be an image bearer. 00:09:38.540 --> 00:09:39.940 The human vocation is to. 00:09:40.300 --> 00:09:40.660 Essentially. 00:09:40.800 --> 00:09:41.420 One way of putting it. 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:44.720 Is to steward the integrity of God's creation. 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:47.200 And the way that that is set out. 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:49.180 Is we are to be rightly related to God. 00:09:49.280 --> 00:09:50.640 We're to be under God. 00:09:51.520 --> 00:09:52.320 Trusting God. 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:52.980 Believing God. 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:53.740 Obeying God. 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:55.280 Men and women. 00:09:55.420 --> 00:09:57.320 Human beings are supposed to be working together. 00:09:57.660 --> 00:09:58.900 In concert and in harmony. 00:09:58.899 --> 00:10:02.079 So the horizontal plane. 00:10:02.079 --> 00:10:03.559 Has a sense of integrity. 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:05.579 And under God together. 00:10:05.579 --> 00:10:05.939 We're going. 00:10:06.100 --> 00:10:08.860 We were intended to rule over creation. 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:10.079 To bring it to full bloom. 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:11.299 To cultivate the earth. 00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:12.159 To make it fruitful. 00:10:12.959 --> 00:10:15.100 But as we read in Genesis 3. 00:10:15.939 --> 00:10:17.919 Adam and Eve disobeyed God. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:19.299 They disobeyed the commandment. 00:10:19.340 --> 00:10:20.100 They ate of the fruit. 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:21.879 And they died. 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:23.899 And the threefold curse. 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:26.879 Corresponds to the threefold vocation. 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:28.539 Serving under God. 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:29.779 With other human beings. 00:10:29.899 --> 00:10:30.960 Over the earth. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.419 And each of those things. 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:36.279 Adam and Eve are hiding from God. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:37.460 So they're estranged from God. 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:38.759 They turn on each other. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:40.600 And then we read in the curse. 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:42.939 That the earth will produce thorns and thistles. 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:44.399 And work will be laborious. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:45.320 And hellish. 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:47.220 And so rather than integrity. 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:49.799 We have creation marked by estrangement. 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:51.740 And a loss of integrity. 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:53.200 And disintegration. 00:10:53.299 --> 00:10:55.220 And of course it all ends in physical death. 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:56.779 And death here is. 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.500 I like to think of it as sort of an anti-sacrament. 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:02.539 It's a symbol that points to a deeper reality. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:04.519 Death is an anti-sacrament. 00:11:05.299 --> 00:11:06.879 So why is death a part of our story? 00:11:06.939 --> 00:11:07.539 The first question. 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:08.779 It's because each one of us. 00:11:08.899 --> 00:11:09.860 Not just Adam and Eve. 00:11:09.939 --> 00:11:11.340 But each one of us is complicit. 00:11:11.820 --> 00:11:12.419 We're victims. 00:11:12.659 --> 00:11:13.659 And we're perpetrators. 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:15.000 We suffer from. 00:11:15.439 --> 00:11:16.659 And we contribute to. 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:18.679 Sin and death. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:20.759 And disintegration in the world. 00:11:21.740 --> 00:11:23.240 And tonight we need to face that head on. 00:11:23.340 --> 00:11:24.000 It's Ash Wednesday. 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:25.700 That's what we do on Ash Wednesday. 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.360 We remind ourselves that we're all going to die. 00:11:29.259 --> 00:11:31.580 So there's something very sobering about why we're here. 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:33.059 And yet. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:34.620 And yet. 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:36.299 All hope is not lost. 00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:38.740 Death is not the final word. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:39.980 We don't have time to go into it now. 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:41.919 But it's so interesting to me. 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:42.860 At the end. 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:44.840 Right after God pronounces all the curses. 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:47.080 What immediately happens. 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:47.700 You know. 00:11:47.820 --> 00:11:48.879 I would think if. 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:49.139 If. 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:51.060 If God had just said all those things to me. 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:52.399 After I disobeyed God. 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:52.879 And said. 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:55.700 You're going to be cursed. 00:11:56.220 --> 00:11:56.820 The rest of. 00:11:57.100 --> 00:11:58.240 The world is cursed. 00:11:58.660 --> 00:11:58.940 You know. 00:11:58.980 --> 00:11:59.519 I might have. 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:00.980 Sunk into a deep depression. 00:12:01.500 --> 00:12:02.399 Or maybe just. 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:03.399 Sped things along. 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:04.600 And just kind of ended things. 00:12:04.659 --> 00:12:05.179 I'm not sure. 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:05.980 What I would have done. 00:12:06.539 --> 00:12:08.139 But Adam does something so surprising. 00:12:09.579 --> 00:12:09.980 He. 00:12:10.419 --> 00:12:11.740 Names his wife Eve. 00:12:11.819 --> 00:12:13.679 Because she will be the mother of all of the living. 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:15.220 Not all of the dying. 00:12:15.579 --> 00:12:16.319 Which I think. 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:17.559 Is just a foreshadowing. 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:18.480 That. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:20.360 Death is not going to end in death. 00:12:20.419 --> 00:12:21.500 It's going to end in life. 00:12:22.079 --> 00:12:23.699 And there's the sacrifice there. 00:12:24.179 --> 00:12:25.539 Death is not the final word. 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:26.219 Easter is. 00:12:26.579 --> 00:12:27.459 New creation is. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:29.419 So Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:31.219 And it ends with Easter. 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:32.459 And we have to keep that in mind. 00:12:32.719 --> 00:12:33.659 Throughout all of Lent. 00:12:33.719 --> 00:12:34.719 Otherwise it would be. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:36.419 Absolutely unbearable. 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:38.379 So the second question is. 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:39.759 How should we approach death? 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:41.379 If now we understand why. 00:12:41.480 --> 00:12:42.159 It's part of the story. 00:12:42.219 --> 00:12:43.639 Because of what Adam and Eve did. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:44.899 And our complicity in it. 00:12:45.379 --> 00:12:46.519 How should we approach death? 00:12:46.579 --> 00:12:47.719 And I want to ask the question. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:49.299 Specifically as Christians. 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:50.500 Again. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:51.899 I want to appeal to Ernest Becker. 00:12:51.959 --> 00:12:54.099 I think he has some interesting insight here. 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:54.420 Here. 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:56.740 He argues that. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:12:59.080 Most Christians. 00:13:00.180 --> 00:13:01.680 Generally approach death. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:02.680 In this way. 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:04.899 Death basically is the engine. 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:06.340 That drives most of our activity. 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:08.139 We basically orient our lives. 00:13:08.139 --> 00:13:09.080 Around not dying. 00:13:09.420 --> 00:13:10.500 This is what he writes. 00:13:11.540 --> 00:13:12.100 Again. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:13.639 From the denial of death. 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:15.540 The idea of death. 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:16.899 The fear of it. 00:13:17.560 --> 00:13:18.980 Haunts the human animal. 00:13:18.980 --> 00:13:19.940 Like nothing else. 00:13:20.779 --> 00:13:22.259 It is a mainspring. 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:23.340 Of human activity. 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:24.920 Activity designed. 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:25.600 Largely. 00:13:26.160 --> 00:13:27.480 To avoid the fatality. 00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:28.100 Of death. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:29.780 To overcome it. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:30.560 By denying. 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:31.399 In some way. 00:13:31.780 --> 00:13:33.180 That it is the finality. 00:13:33.180 --> 00:13:33.879 For man. 00:13:34.300 --> 00:13:35.620 So he argues that. 00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:38.120 Trying to deny death. 00:13:38.160 --> 00:13:40.019 Is the thing that basically drives. 00:13:40.680 --> 00:13:41.860 Most of the activities. 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:42.700 That human beings. 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:43.700 And cultures have done. 00:13:43.780 --> 00:13:44.960 Throughout the ages. 00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:46.300 You know. 00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:47.000 As I thought about it. 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:48.019 I think it's just human nature. 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:48.720 Human nature. 00:13:48.800 --> 00:13:50.400 There's really just two ways. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:51.860 That we deny death. 00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:53.120 And they're both forms. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:54.139 Of the same thing. 00:13:54.220 --> 00:13:55.819 They just run in opposite directions. 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:57.899 And it's not surprising. 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:00.279 When humans are faced with. 00:14:02.059 --> 00:14:03.019 Impending doom. 00:14:03.179 --> 00:14:03.659 Or terror. 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:04.319 Or harm. 00:14:05.139 --> 00:14:05.779 What do we do? 00:14:06.259 --> 00:14:07.659 The fight or flight response. 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:08.779 That's basically the way. 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:09.620 The two different ways. 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:12.240 That we tend to deny death. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:13.639 So first with flight. 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:14.779 We try to run away from it. 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:16.439 There's a funny graphic novel. 00:14:17.019 --> 00:14:18.480 Written by a. 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:20.860 New Yorker cartoonist. 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:22.519 And it's called. 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:23.959 Can we talk about something more pleasant? 00:14:24.459 --> 00:14:24.939 And this. 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:25.659 It's kind of funny. 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:26.480 It's kind of dark. 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:27.220 And she's. 00:14:27.319 --> 00:14:27.939 It's sort of a memoir. 00:14:27.939 --> 00:14:28.819 About how she. 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:30.579 Had to talk to her parents. 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:32.139 That were aging and dying. 00:14:32.539 --> 00:14:33.879 And explore the different ways. 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:35.139 That she and her parents. 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:35.959 Avoided the topic. 00:14:36.079 --> 00:14:37.220 Tried to distract themselves. 00:14:37.339 --> 00:14:37.579 And just. 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:38.559 Just not talk about it. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:40.039 I think many of us. 00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:41.179 Tried to deny the fact. 00:14:41.259 --> 00:14:42.079 That we're going to die. 00:14:42.259 --> 00:14:43.179 We ignore it. 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:44.599 But this is why I think. 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:45.659 60% of Americans. 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:46.639 Don't have wills. 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:48.139 Or have their state plans in order. 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:50.039 This is. 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:50.899 The same reason. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:52.039 Why we don't go to the doctor. 00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:52.939 When we. 00:14:54.219 --> 00:14:55.179 Have that lump. 00:14:55.299 --> 00:14:55.620 Or. 00:14:56.059 --> 00:14:57.159 There's some sort of symptom. 00:14:57.259 --> 00:14:58.439 We would just rather not know. 00:14:58.500 --> 00:14:59.239 We don't want to face it. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:14:59.659 And maybe. 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:00.259 Maybe. 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:01.399 If we run away from it. 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:02.659 If we ignore it long enough. 00:15:03.379 --> 00:15:04.019 Death won't. 00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:04.879 Won't catch us. 00:15:06.319 --> 00:15:07.339 The other response. 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:09.339 Is that we try to fight against it. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:11.279 And sometimes we vacillate. 00:15:11.359 --> 00:15:11.919 Between the two. 00:15:12.039 --> 00:15:12.859 But perhaps the. 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:13.860 The greatest expression. 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:15.000 Of fighting against death. 00:15:15.019 --> 00:15:16.620 Is the great Dylan Thomas poem. 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:17.899 Do not go gentle. 00:15:17.899 --> 00:15:18.759 Into that good night. 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:20.200 Old age should burn. 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:21.840 And rave at close of day. 00:15:22.300 --> 00:15:22.940 It's a great line. 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:23.480 Rage. 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:24.019 Rage. 00:15:24.019 --> 00:15:25.320 Against the dying of the light. 00:15:26.300 --> 00:15:26.919 Captures it. 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:27.480 It's terrible. 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:28.779 It's a terrible way. 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:29.560 To approach death. 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:30.919 But I think a lot of us do that. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:31.860 And I think we see that. 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:33.200 In just the. 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:33.879 The complex. 00:15:34.019 --> 00:15:34.519 The industry. 00:15:34.680 --> 00:15:35.419 Of anti-aging. 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:36.320 That we have in the west. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:37.379 And especially in America. 00:15:37.560 --> 00:15:37.740 With. 00:15:38.300 --> 00:15:39.500 Anti-aging creams. 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:40.600 And plastic surgeries. 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:42.040 And cryonics. 00:15:42.040 --> 00:15:42.779 Or cryogenics. 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:43.000 Where. 00:15:43.680 --> 00:15:44.659 There are people who. 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:47.080 Pay hundreds of thousands of dollars. 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:48.259 Right after you die. 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:49.399 They'll put your body. 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:50.360 Into a deep freeze. 00:15:50.980 --> 00:15:51.200 Such. 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:52.060 So that. 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:52.980 In a few years. 00:15:53.060 --> 00:15:54.480 Hopefully they'll be able to resuscitate you. 00:15:54.560 --> 00:15:55.040 Because they. 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:56.379 They are fighting against death. 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:57.460 They don't want to die. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:15:58.200 They want to be immortal. 00:15:59.019 --> 00:15:59.580 Perhaps the. 00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:00.560 The craziest example. 00:16:00.560 --> 00:16:02.100 Of fighting against death. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:02.659 That I've. 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:03.040 I've heard. 00:16:03.100 --> 00:16:04.580 I had a friend who studied at Oxford. 00:16:04.580 --> 00:16:05.519 A couple years ago. 00:16:06.299 --> 00:16:07.039 And while he was there. 00:16:07.439 --> 00:16:08.679 He had a fellow student. 00:16:08.759 --> 00:16:09.439 A British guy. 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:10.159 I'm sure. 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:10.899 Very intelligent. 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:11.939 And he had a. 00:16:11.939 --> 00:16:12.620 A GoPro. 00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:13.779 Strapped around his chest. 00:16:13.939 --> 00:16:14.819 Sort of like a necklace. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:16.259 And just sitting here. 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:18.100 And what the GoPro would do. 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:18.319 Is. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:18.939 It was programmed. 00:16:19.079 --> 00:16:19.939 Every 10 seconds. 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:21.579 It would take a picture. 00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:23.240 And all those pictures. 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:24.740 Were transferred to a hard drive. 00:16:24.939 --> 00:16:26.139 And he was hoping that. 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:26.679 Basically. 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:27.980 He would record. 00:16:28.539 --> 00:16:29.460 His memory. 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:30.699 Every 10 seconds of it. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:31.159 And. 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:32.639 If he happened to die. 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:32.980 His. 00:16:33.079 --> 00:16:33.600 His brain. 00:16:33.699 --> 00:16:34.159 So to speak. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:34.579 Would be. 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:35.320 On a hard drive. 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:36.020 And he would be able to. 00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:36.720 Download it. 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:37.420 And. 00:16:38.060 --> 00:16:38.780 Get himself back. 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:39.240 Or something. 00:16:40.400 --> 00:16:41.160 So fight or flight. 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:42.360 We know. 00:16:42.520 --> 00:16:43.639 Neither approach works. 00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:45.340 Resistance is futile. 00:16:46.040 --> 00:16:46.960 Death is always. 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:47.680 Fatal. 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:48.840 Right? 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:49.480 We know this. 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:50.860 But we still try to run away. 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:52.080 We still try to fight against it. 00:16:53.020 --> 00:16:53.900 But I think as Christians. 00:16:54.040 --> 00:16:54.860 Especially as Christians. 00:16:55.060 --> 00:16:56.020 Neither of these approaches. 00:16:56.020 --> 00:16:56.580 Is really. 00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:57.320 Appropriate. 00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:59.120 I think we ought to. 00:16:59.540 --> 00:17:00.320 Approach death. 00:17:00.540 --> 00:17:00.860 In a. 00:17:01.300 --> 00:17:01.700 Qualitatively. 00:17:01.780 --> 00:17:02.420 Different way. 00:17:02.800 --> 00:17:03.080 Than. 00:17:03.580 --> 00:17:04.120 Other people. 00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:05.839 And Ash Wednesday. 00:17:06.619 --> 00:17:07.500 Confronts us with that. 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:08.399 It challenges us. 00:17:08.399 --> 00:17:08.879 With this. 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:10.059 Lent. 00:17:10.139 --> 00:17:10.699 And Ash Wednesday. 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:12.259 Refuses to let us off the hook. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:12.859 We can't. 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:13.559 Run away. 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:15.319 We have to face it. 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:16.379 We can't fight against it. 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:18.119 We are actually. 00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:18.659 Equipped. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:19.879 Via Lent. 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:20.399 To. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:21.519 Leverage death. 00:17:21.639 --> 00:17:22.899 For God's good purposes. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:24.079 So how is this possible? 00:17:24.399 --> 00:17:25.799 How can we leverage death? 00:17:25.859 --> 00:17:27.480 How can we take advantage of death? 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:28.480 As it were. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.779 Well this is the heart of the Christian faith. 00:17:30.779 --> 00:17:32.740 God's son. 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:33.980 Took on flesh. 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:34.779 In Jesus Christ. 00:17:34.879 --> 00:17:35.500 He became. 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:36.879 Dust. 00:17:37.379 --> 00:17:39.579 It's one way of thinking about what the incarnation was. 00:17:39.819 --> 00:17:41.019 God became dust. 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:42.859 Subject to sin. 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:44.079 And to death. 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:45.379 And to disintegration. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:47.759 And this sinless savior. 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:49.639 Suffered the curse of sin. 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:52.559 And he died on a cross in our place. 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:54.839 In order that by the grace of God. 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:56.559 He might taste death for everyone. 00:17:56.700 --> 00:17:58.139 As it's put in Hebrews 2. 00:17:58.140 --> 00:18:01.560 Jesus tastes death for everyone. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:03.300 And of course we know. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:04.160 That in Easter. 00:18:04.300 --> 00:18:06.759 We celebrate the fact that Jesus didn't stay dead. 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:08.820 He was raised to new life. 00:18:09.040 --> 00:18:10.680 And Jesus' resurrection. 00:18:11.020 --> 00:18:12.520 His being raised to new life. 00:18:12.580 --> 00:18:13.940 Actually upends death. 00:18:14.080 --> 00:18:15.740 It begins the reversal of death. 00:18:15.820 --> 00:18:17.540 And when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. 00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.060 We're freed from the ultimate bonds. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:21.340 And finality of death. 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:22.900 And therefore from the fear of death. 00:18:23.460 --> 00:18:24.860 We're promised resurrection life. 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:25.740 The life of Christ. 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:28.440 Death was not the final word for Jesus. 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:31.019 And it doesn't need to be the final word for us. 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:33.319 As we read in our Colossians passage. 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:35.740 When Christ who is your life appears. 00:18:35.740 --> 00:18:37.500 When he returns in the second advent. 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:39.859 Then you also will appear with him. 00:18:40.120 --> 00:18:40.640 In glory. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.140 Because of the death. 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:44.720 And the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:46.920 Death becomes characteristic. 00:18:46.980 --> 00:18:48.079 Of the Christian life. 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:49.380 Death becomes baked in. 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:51.099 To what it means to be a Christian. 00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:53.200 I think this is what Jesus is getting at. 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:54.220 In John 12 24. 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:54.860 When he says, 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:56.319 Truly, truly, I say to you. 00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:59.360 Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies. 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:00.480 It remains alone. 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:02.400 But if it dies. 00:19:02.620 --> 00:19:03.839 It bears much fruit. 00:19:04.819 --> 00:19:06.059 Whoever loses his life. 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:08.480 Whoever loves his life. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:09.079 Loses it. 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:11.220 And whoever hates his life in this world. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:13.059 Will keep it for eternal life. 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:17.200 What this means is that death becomes our tool. 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:19.420 We leverage death in order. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.460 That we might live into the resurrection life of Christ. 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:26.500 And so Lent is a time where we practice dying. 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:28.700 That we might more fully live. 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:32.340 What this means is that death was once our greatest enemy. 00:19:32.460 --> 00:19:34.340 Now becomes one of our greatest servants. 00:19:35.079 --> 00:19:38.259 I think this is kind of one of the things Paul is talking about in Romans 8. 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:39.940 When he says that we're more than conquerors. 00:19:40.019 --> 00:19:42.440 All the things that could formerly hurt us. 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.600 And destroy us. 00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:44.519 And kill us. 00:19:44.840 --> 00:19:46.500 Now end up becoming our servants. 00:19:46.620 --> 00:19:47.259 They serve us. 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:49.420 And God's purposes in our lives. 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:51.860 The Christian life. 00:19:52.060 --> 00:19:53.620 And especially during Lent. 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:55.900 Is a time where we are to practice dying. 00:19:56.100 --> 00:19:56.980 Dying to self. 00:19:58.820 --> 00:20:00.259 We're to actively kill. 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:01.620 And put to death the sin. 00:20:01.800 --> 00:20:02.779 And the behaviors. 00:20:03.019 --> 00:20:04.200 And the thoughts that are destructive. 00:20:04.320 --> 00:20:05.259 And make us less human. 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:07.420 This is what Paul is getting at. 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:08.560 In Colossians 3. 00:20:08.860 --> 00:20:10.220 When he's telling us. 00:20:10.340 --> 00:20:11.840 To put things to death. 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:13.800 This is what he says again. 00:20:14.560 --> 00:20:15.220 He says. 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:17.640 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you. 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:19.180 Sexual immorality. 00:20:19.380 --> 00:20:19.779 Impurity. 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:20.339 Passion. 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:20.720 Evil. 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:21.240 Desire. 00:20:21.339 --> 00:20:22.019 And covetousness. 00:20:22.059 --> 00:20:22.980 Which is idolatry. 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:24.860 On account of these things. 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:26.319 The wrath of God is coming. 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:27.700 We're going to die. 00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:30.759 In these two you once walked. 00:20:30.940 --> 00:20:32.059 When you were living in them. 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:33.819 But now you must put them all away. 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:34.299 Anger. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:34.680 Wrath. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:35.160 Malice. 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:35.600 Slander. 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:37.019 And obscene talk from your mouth. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:38.880 Do not lie to one another. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:40.900 We're to put these things to death. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:42.279 There's an old word for it. 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:43.000 It's a great word. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:45.799 We should have this be part of our vocabulary during Lent. 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:47.799 We're to mortify these things. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:48.519 Mortification. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:49.819 We're to put them to death. 00:20:50.619 --> 00:20:51.680 And when we do these things. 00:20:51.740 --> 00:20:53.160 When we mortify to these things. 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:54.460 That make us less human. 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:56.920 We actually are reintegrated. 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:58.240 We become more and more. 00:20:58.619 --> 00:21:00.220 As God intended us to be. 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:01.359 As his image bearers. 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:02.440 We become more fully human. 00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:05.759 And this is one of the reasons why we fast during Lent. 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:07.440 When we fast. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:08.279 We forgo something. 00:21:08.380 --> 00:21:08.880 We give it up. 00:21:08.940 --> 00:21:11.039 We essentially say no to something. 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:13.259 And when we're able to say no. 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:15.460 To eating or drinking. 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.639 We're building our spiritual muscles. 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:23.079 Because when we are able to resist something as natural and visceral. 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:26.659 And strong as the desire to eat food. 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:32.859 That self-control that we develop is transferable to other things that we need to resist. 00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:34.419 So for instance. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:39.419 I find that if I am able to develop my self-control by fasting regularly. 00:21:39.959 --> 00:21:41.740 It's much easier for me. 00:21:41.939 --> 00:21:44.399 So if I can control not putting food into my mouth. 00:21:44.500 --> 00:21:48.619 It's much easier for me to control not saying that thing I shouldn't say to somebody else. 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:50.219 When we fast. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:53.879 And we develop our self-control by the spirit. 00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:57.319 We're able to put to death these things. 00:21:58.059 --> 00:21:59.699 That destroy us. 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:01.500 And actually kill us. 00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:03.920 And when we fast. 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:05.299 We're not just saying no. 00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:07.740 Because we know nature abhors a vacuum. 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:09.519 If we say no to something. 00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:11.740 We need to replace it with something better. 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:12.859 We need to say yes. 00:22:13.380 --> 00:22:14.720 And that's why Paul says. 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:16.119 After we need to put things to death. 00:22:16.180 --> 00:22:17.619 He then tells us to put things on. 00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:20.339 And Lent is a time not just of fasting. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:22.299 And not just of penitence and repentance. 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:25.380 It's a time where we do special acts of charity. 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:28.839 Where we go above and beyond in love. 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:32.319 So Paul says put on then as God's chosen ones. 00:22:32.399 --> 00:22:34.199 Holy and beloved compassionate hearts. 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:36.500 Kindness, humility, meekness and patience. 00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:38.220 Bearing with one another. 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:41.399 And if one has a complaint against another forgiving each other. 00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:42.319 And he goes on. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:45.419 Above all these put on love. 00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:49.620 So fasting, repentance and love. 00:22:49.620 --> 00:22:52.820 Are to characterize how we grow. 00:22:53.580 --> 00:22:56.380 And are reintegrated in this season of Lent. 00:22:57.180 --> 00:22:58.259 I want to end this evening. 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:00.259 One of my Lenten disciplines. 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:02.960 Is to go through an anthology of poetry. 00:23:03.140 --> 00:23:05.039 You'll have noticed I've cited a few poems. 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:06.700 Poems are really helpful for me. 00:23:07.100 --> 00:23:08.700 Especially in contemplating something. 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:11.420 As inexpressible. 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:12.940 As inexpressible if you will. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:13.860 As death. 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:15.000 To try to wrestle with it. 00:23:15.539 --> 00:23:17.140 But I read a poetry anthology. 00:23:18.580 --> 00:23:20.440 Called Waiting in the Wilderness. 00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:22.240 By Malcolm Gite. 00:23:22.300 --> 00:23:23.700 And I want to read a poem. 00:23:23.820 --> 00:23:25.539 It was actually the poem that was emailed today. 00:23:25.620 --> 00:23:27.539 In the Lenten devotional to the church. 00:23:28.019 --> 00:23:29.200 This is a little plug for that. 00:23:29.300 --> 00:23:30.100 The Church of the Advent. 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:31.560 We send out a daily devotional. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:32.700 During the season of Lent. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:35.180 Somebody will write and reflect on. 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:36.600 A passage of scripture. 00:23:36.840 --> 00:23:37.779 Or we'll have a poem. 00:23:38.620 --> 00:23:40.840 But this is a poem called Ash Wednesday. 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:42.639 And I think it's a fitting poem. 00:23:42.639 --> 00:23:44.459 To end the sermon on Ash Wednesday. 00:23:44.459 --> 00:23:45.699 Because it captures both. 00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:47.699 The severity of Lent. 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:50.220 And the finality of death. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:51.699 And our complicity in sin. 00:23:51.879 --> 00:23:54.299 But it also captures the hope. 00:23:54.559 --> 00:23:56.439 That Lent ultimately points to. 00:23:56.699 --> 00:23:57.779 In Easter Sunday. 00:23:58.659 --> 00:24:01.079 It's a sonnet called Ash Wednesday. 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:02.059 By Malcolm Gite. 00:24:02.199 --> 00:24:03.500 He's a poet and theologian. 00:24:03.899 --> 00:24:04.679 In England. 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:07.579 And I'll finish with this. 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:09.399 This is what he writes. 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:10.400 It says. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:12.860 Receive this cross of ash upon your brow. 00:24:13.580 --> 00:24:14.900 Brought from the burning. 00:24:15.140 --> 00:24:16.940 Of Palm Sunday's cross. 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:20.080 The forests of the world are burning now. 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:22.980 And you make late repentance for the loss. 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:26.340 But all the trees of God would clap their hands. 00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:29.500 The very stones themselves would shout and sing. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:32.160 If you could covenant to love these lands. 00:24:32.300 --> 00:24:34.920 And recognize in Christ their Lord and King. 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:38.940 He sees the slow destruction of the trees. 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:41.960 He weeps to see the ancient places burn. 00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:45.279 And still you make what purchases you please. 00:24:46.100 --> 00:24:48.460 And still to dust and ashes you return. 00:24:49.340 --> 00:24:52.300 But hope could rise from ashes even now. 00:24:53.080 --> 00:24:55.820 Beginning with this sign upon your brow. 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:56.899 Let's pray. 00:24:56.899 --> 00:24:57.359 Amen. 00:24:57.419 --> 00:25:00.019 Let's pray. 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:02.679 Amen. 00:25:03.059 --> 00:25:03.339 Amen. 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:03.579 Amen. 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:04.099 Amen. 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:04.419 Amen. 00:25:04.419 --> 00:25:04.720 Amen. 00:25:04.939 --> 00:25:05.279 Amen. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:05.519 Amen. 00:25:05.779 --> 00:25:06.200 Amen. 00:25:06.200 --> 00:25:06.319 Amen. 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:06.500 Amen. 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:08.659 Amen. 00:25:08.659 --> 00:25:09.019 Amen. 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:13.220 Amen. 00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:13.980 Amen. 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:14.339 Amen. 00:25:14.339 --> 00:25:15.039 Amen. 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:15.179 Amen. 00:25:15.179 --> 00:25:15.279 Amen. 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:15.480 Amen. 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:16.419 Amen. 00:25:20.379 --> 00:25:20.839 Amen. 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:22.779 Amen. 00:25:22.779 --> 00:25:23.960 Amen. 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:24.000 Amen. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:25.019 Amen.