Return to Me

Return to Me

February 13, 2013

Ash Wednesday

By Colleen O'Sullivan

Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning.  Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. (Joel 2:12-13)

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  (2 Corinthians 5:20b)

Jesus said to his disciples:  “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.”  (Matthew 6:1)

Piety

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. (Psalm 51:12)

Study

Today we begin the season of Lent.  We receive ashes in the sign of the Cross on our foreheads.  The palms we waved as Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday have been burned and returned to us as ashes, a reminder of our human mortality and a symbol of our desire for repentance and conversion. 

In our first Scripture reading today, the prophet Joel reminds us that our God is gracious and merciful, and he urges us to return to God with all our heart.  Don’t get caught up in outward displays of piety; what God really desires is hearts turned toward him.  Paul, too, in his second letter to the Corinthians, implores us to be reconciled to God.  Jesus says that whatever we do to turn to the Lord – pray, fast or give to the poor – don’t do it for show.  Let it be between just us and God.

Action

A good place to begin reflecting on the disposition of our hearts in relation to God is with Jesus’ words about the two greatest commandments:  “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it:  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matthew 22: 37-39)  Those words pretty much cover everything.  Ask yourself:  Do I love God with all my heart or do I love other things just as much or more?  Do I love other people the way I’d like to be loved or somewhat less?

I follow Ignatian Spirituality on Facebook and by email.  One day last week, the post was a reworking of the Serenity Prayer by James Martin, S.J. (http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/15306/a-new-serenity-prayer/)   This could be a great prayer to use in kicking off your Lenten reflections on your relationship with God:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, which is pretty much everyone, since I’m clearly not you, God.  At least not the last time I checked.  And while you’re at it, God, please give me the courage to change what I need to change about myself, which is frankly a lot, since, once again, I’m not you, which means I’m not perfect.

It’s better for me to focus on changing myself than to worry about changing other people, who, as you’ll no doubt remember me saying, I can’t change anyway.  Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up whenever I think that I’m clearly smarter than everyone else in the room, that no one knows what they’re talking about except me, or that I alone have all the answers.  Basically, God, grant me the wisdom to remember that I’m not you.  Amen.

If you haven’t already planned your observance of Lent, it’s not too late.  Today is only the first day.