Ash Wednesday

The 18th century Rabbi Simcha Bunim once said, “Every person has to have two pockets and in each pocket they have to carry a different note. And the note in one pocket says ‘The universe was created for me.’ And in the other pocket the note says ‘I am just dust and ashes.’” This Rabbi is talking about balancing ego and humility, how to cultivate them. 

The reason why I share this saying is that it actually gives great insight about how we understand Jesus’ teaching in the gospel we heard this Ash Wednesday. At first, Jesus sounds like telling us not to show off to others whatever pious practices and work we do, especially during this season of Lent. But as we reflect more and more to his voice, we see the inner struggle each one of us has, that is between our own ego and humility. This small ego-self always tempts us to be a god of our own, to be praised and recognized by others, and to be in control of everything. And Jesus even goes further than merely balancing our ego and humility, but calls us to live a different life, a new life found in him.

So, he tells us, “Go to your inner room.” This inner room of our heart is where God happens. This act of entering into our inner room is really to allow ourselves to be transformed by God. In this inner room we can see that we’re finite, that we are dust and ashes. Especially today, we’re somehow liturgically forced to face that reality as ashes are imposed in our foreheads. And receiving ashes in the hospital makes it more real, perhaps too close to our skin. We see our human nature that is limited and mortal. We face our human reality. And if this is the only thing we discover in this inner room of our own, then all I can say is to live your life as fruitful as you can.

But that is not the case in our Christian faith. As much as we know that we are dust and ashes, we must know that we’re raised with Christ. This entire process of entering into our inner room reminds us of our Baptism. Through Baptism, we die to ourselves and live to Christ; we are buried with Christ and are raised with Christ. 

Today we’re beginning our journey to the Paschal Mystery. As we receive ashes, we remember who we are. And mostly importantly, as we receive the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we also remember we are God’s beloveds. This promise of the resurrection assures us that the love of God never separates us from God as well as those who we love. 

Too often during this season of Lent we feel pressured to be sad, miserable, and gloomy. Lent comes from the old English word, ‘spring.’ It is the season to spring from ashes to the new life in Christ. It is the season to spring from our baptismal death to our baptismal resurrection. And we do so by going to our inner room where we empty ourselves to be open to the love of God and of neighbor.

As I’m concluding my homily, I want to go back to the saying of the 18th century Rabbi. What notes do we have in our two pockets? One says, “I’m just dust and ashes.” The other says, “I’m raised with Christ.” Amen.