We have just celebrated the
holiday of hearts: paper
valentines, satin hearts of chocolate,
pastel candy hearts, and diamond hearts. Coincidentally this year Ash Wednesday is
just days after Valentines ,and Ash
Wednesday is also concerned with hearts.
These are some of the
traditional Scriptures for today:
“Create in me a clean heart, O
Lord, and renew a right spirit within
me”
“Test me O Lord and
examine my heart.”
“I will take away your hearts of stone”
“I will give you a heart to know me”
and the Scripture passage
just read from Ezekiel:
“I will give you a new heart”
What does it mean to receive
a new heart?
For the Davis family in
South Carolina, for their little 5 year old daughter Natalie, a new heart was
crucial if she were going to continue to live. Natalie had a rare heart
condition where the heart muscle was weakening.
Her activities were limited; she could no longer run or play. Thankfully she was able to receive a transplanted heart.
Now almost a year later, she has grown taller and she is much more active. She
even chases her sister around the
house. A new heart gave her new life, a
new way of being.
We are beginning our Lenten
journey of six weeks where we are thinking about the possibilities of new life.
We look ahead to the promise of Easter morning and remember the reconciling love and grace that
our Lord offers.
The “heart “ can be
defined as our innermost character,
feelings, or inclinations
How would you describe the spiritual
health of your heart?
Sometimes in daily life, we are surprised by what we discover about our
heart. Heather Kopp writes a blog where
she frequently reveals her “growing
edge”, her long way to go, as a follower
of Christ. This story is from one of her
writings:
“My husband Dave can be so selfish. And this morning was a great example.
Normally he gets up first, and so naturally, he makes the coffee... But here's
the selfish part. Sometimes, Dave gets up super early to work on
manuscripts...and by the time I get up, there's less than two cups of coffee
left for me- which is obviously not nearly enough. What a coffee hog!
This morning it happened again. I
came down to the kitchen at 7am, plenty early you'd think, but as soon as I
went to pour the coffee I could tell the thermos was too light in my hand. Sure
enough, there was only one cup left.
Like I said, Dave can be so selfish. Especially when you consider that soon he'll be going into the office where
he works and where he can drink all the coffee he wants all day long- while I'm
stuck at home without.”
Heather continues her story by saying she headed for the den so that she
could confront her husband. He wanted to
know if she was wondering about the coffee.
She said “Of course not...but I
did happen to notice that there wasn't much left for me.” Dave explained that the coffee grinder
broke and so he brewed the last of the
ground coffee just for her and he was
having tea. Heather writes:
“ I glanced at his mug. It was true. My husband was drinking useless
tea....so that I could have at least one cup of coffee to drink this morning
while I prayed and meditated next to my candle, reflecting as I'm wont to do on
all those gushy feelings of love for God and for all people that help to
convince me I really am growing in selflessness. Lord, have mercy.”
Lent is the season for examination of the heart, for being open to seeing
ourselves as God sees us. Like Heather,
we may want to cry out: Lord have mercy!
In our hymnal, the Word and Table 1 (communion
service) begins with this prayer:
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you
no secrets are hidden. We declare together in our worship that God knows us very well, and knows
the condition of our hearts.
Lent offers us the daily opportunity to open ourselves, to drop our
defenses, and to bring God's light shining into the shadowy corners of
ourselves.
What needs might we find in our hearts? a need for forgiveness of our sins healing of old wounds need for encouragement the cleansing from guilt and shame empowerment greater empathy for others for a stronger faith for acceptance of the truth of who we
are.
What does God desire for your heart?
One of my favorite newspaper cartoons is Agnes, drawn by a cartoonist in
Columbus. Agnes is a little girl who lives a simple life with her
grandmother. Agnes has a friend named
Trout. In one of the cartoons, Agnes
and Trout are sitting on a hill and
contemplating their lives. Agnes says “
I'm going to clean up my little corner of the world. I think if everyone did
that the whole world could be shiny, clean and perfect.” Agnes asks Trout: “
Are you going to clean up your little corner of the world?” Trout replies”Can I
just stay in yours until I can rent a backhoe?”
Trout is very perceptive; it may
seem like we do need a back hoe to clean up our lives. Change seems to be too hard, too demanding, and many times, temporary.
God is willing to help you to transform your heart so that you have more
joy, and are more free to love and to serve him.
Lent is the season of hope where we
partner with God to clean up our little corner of the world, to receive in many
ways, a new heart. On this first evening
of Lent, we say a simple prayer: “Lord,
here I am. Where do we start?”
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