Rend Your Heart

"...Yet even now, says the Lord,

return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing." (Joel 2:12-13)

On Ash Wednesday I offered four services. One was with four year olds from our preschool, kids who are not necessarily Christian or even religious. I aim to teach them a little bit about Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. I begin by reading Judith Viorst's book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." I get the kids to repeat the refrain with me every time it shows up in the story. Then we talk about days when every thing goes wrong and we feel bad, those days when we have to say "sorry" to someone or when we need someone to say "sorry" to us. I talked about how the ashes remind Christians of the importance of saying "I'm sorry" and trying to treat others kindly. I then invite the kids to touch the rough ashes which are the remnants of the palms from Palm Sunday, burned on Shrove Tuesday for the Ash Wednesday services. I don't actually use these rough ashes for the cross I apply on people, although I could if I shifted them and added a little chrism oil. But I do use the rough ashes as part of the Ash Wednesday decor. Then I offer to use the refined ashes to make the sign of the cross on a child's forehead or hand, if they wish. 

At the noon service I had a four year in the front row, so I threw out my "formal" sermon and did a repeat of the conversation I had with the preschoolers. I asked the four year old to help me and I expanded on the idea of saying we're sorry to address more adult concerns of mending broken relationships. 

Then I had a 2pm service at the local retirement facility and there I preached my formal sermon, the one that I written, and I used my text. It was rather boring if I say so myself. 

At the final service at 5:30pm I threw out the formal sermon and in the spur of the moment offered a reflection on this portion of Joel - rend your heart. Open your heart to God. Observe a holy Lent by opening our hearts to God. I told the story about being with the preschoolers and then with the four year old, sharing how the day had progressed from the simple delight of sharing ashes with kids to this final invitation to observe a holy Lent. To ponder what it means to rend open one's heart, to be present to God, and follow where God leads one in the course of this season.

It's been many years since I have preached without a text, although that was my preferred style for a long time. I found something very freeing to preach from the heart on Ash Wednesday. It was not an unprepared homily, it was actually a deeply prepared homily, in which I opened my heart and allowed what was inside to pour forth.