One of the things that I love about living in the south is in all the different meanings of the phrase, “O bless your heart!” And of course, each meaning is based on your tone of voice and what you emphasize when you say this phrase.
In the north, it only had one meaning when we used it. It’s used as a way of showing empathy and concern for another person. “Oh… bless…your…heart.”
But I have learned that this phrase can also be a way to express your amazement at how someone can be so incredibly out of touch with reality. When you say the phrase with this meaning in mind, you have to add a sarcastic grin when you say it, something like this… “Oh, bless your heart.”
These different meanings in how we use this phrase reminds me of all the different meanings when we refer to the word, “heart.” The way we can use the word “heart” in everyday language can also be problematic.
For example, when a cardiologist is talking about your heart, he or she is probably referring to the organ in your chest that pumps blood throughout your body.
When a therapist is referring to your heart, he or she probably is using that word to refer to your deep-seated emotions, as in the question, “what is your heart telling you to do?”
Another meaning of the word, “heart,” is when you might be going through a difficult time and a good friend of yours says, “Take heart and stay strong. You’ll get through this.”
So, when we hear a scripture reading like the one that was just read for us from Jeremiah, chapter 17 where it says, “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse – who can understand it,” we need to ask ourselves what the person meant by referring to the heart.
When we hear or read scripture passages like this Jeremiah passage, we always run the danger of taking these verses out of their original context. And when we do that, it’s like the different meanings that are possible when someone says, “Bless your heart.” Did that person mean it in a genuine way where they have empathy and sympathy, or did they say it in a sarcastic way?
So, what did Jeremiah mean when he says in verse 9 of our scripture reading that “the heart is devious above all else; it is perverse, who can understand it?” In the biblical world, the word, “heart” didn’t just refer to our feelings like we tend to mean it today. The word, “heart” referred to someone’s actions, intentions, and motivations.
And Jeremiah was also saying these words during a specific context when the Babylonian Empire was threatening to invade Israel. There were some people in Israel who weren’t heeding the warnings of the prophets during this national crisis, and they wanted to take matters into their own hands instead.
So, what does this scripture mean for you and for me? Well, as we begin this Season of Lent, this is a time for us to examine our hearts, meaning our actions, intentions, and motivations, and to see if they are helping or hurting us to trust God in a deeper way.
We are invited to ask some tough questions of ourselves like, “what are some bad habits that are unhealthy and preventing me from reaching my fullest potential in living out who God has called me to be?”
“What are some spiritual disciplines of my faith that I have been neglecting to practice in my daily routine, like spending time in prayer, reflecting on scripture, attending worship, and serving others?”
“Have I hit a plateau in my faith where I am no longer open to other peoples’ perspectives and unique experiences in how they see God and seek to live out being a disciple of Jesus? Have I become too tunnel visioned in how I approach my faith?”
“What are some things in my life that I need to let go like resentment, past regrets, impatience, control issues, stubbornness, closed-mindedness, a quick temper?”
And then of course, as good Methodists, we always need to be asking this question that John Wesley encouraged his early Methodists to think about often and that question is “How is it with my soul?” Or on this Valentine’s Day, we might change that a little bit to “How is it with my heart” in the way that Jeremiah is meaning it from our Old Testament reading.
And again, that would include not just our feelings, but also our actions, intentions, and motivations, and do they line up with who God is calling me to be?
I believe these are the questions that Jeremiah would have us ask about our hearts as we begin this holy season of self-examination. Notice that just after Jeremiah refers to the people’s hearts as being devious, he then says, “I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.”
This verse from Jeremiah is a wonderful description of the importance of observing the Season of Lent. It’s to allow the Lord to test our minds and search our hearts according to the fruit that we are producing.
When we read about the people of Israel throughout the Old Testament, we can see how sometimes their hearts were right with God and at other times, they were not lined up with God’s desires and purposes. Just like the people of Israel, we also experience the ebb and flow in our faith. Sometimes our hearts can be producing wonderful fruit and at other times, they can deceive us to the point where we are no longer placing our whole trust in God. In other words, we are all a work in progress.
So, the issue isn’t if our hearts are always bad and deceitful, or if our hearts are always good and fruitful. It’s more about what is my heart like right now, in this very moment and in this season of my life. Is my heart humble, loving, gracious, generous, and open to who God is calling me to be?
I think it’s great that Valentines Day and Ash Wednesday fall on the same day this year because it reminds us of why Jesus died on the cross for our sins and for the sins of the world. Listen again to these words from our Gospel reading. “For God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
God’s love was displayed most fully through Jesus’ death on the cross for the sake of the world. The cross is the ultimate symbol of our faith because it reveals to us the great lengths that Jesus was willing to go on our behalf.
OK, commercial time. For our Sunday worship services during the Season of Lent, we will be looking at 6 different crosses of Jesus and how each of these crosses help us to see just how much God loves us. Beginning this Sunday, we will focus on the Latin Cross, which is the most common shape of all of the crosses.
For the remaining Sundays in Lent, we’ll be looking at the Jerusalem Cross, the Tau Cross, the St. Andrew’s Cross, the Celtic Cross, and then on Palm Sunday, we’ll conclude this series by focusing on the Crucifix. I hope you will appreciate this series on the 6 different crosses of Jesus as much as I have enjoyed preparing for this sermon series.
My prayer for all of us during this Season of Lent is that this series will help us to examine our hearts in light of the cross of Jesus. May God truly bless each of our hearts. And in case you’re wondering, I really do mean that.
May God bless your heart.
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