A Lenten Reading of Matthew - Day One - Ash Wednesday

Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:1-17 (NRSVUE)

As we enter into another season of Lent, we may think about our own ancestry that have passed into death on Ash Wednesday as we hear the words said to us, "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return."

In opening the Gospel, Matthew places Jesus firmly within Judaism as a son of Abraham who was seen as the father of the faith.  He is also seen as a son of David who was the king with which Israel measured greatness.  

Note that Matthew narrates fourteen generations between Abraham and David which were important markers in history.  Then we have fourteen generations between the height of the monarchy and the exile to Babylon which would have been seen as the low point.  Now we have fourteen generations between the deportation and Jesus.  As we think of cycles moving back and forth in history, Matthew seems to be saying that we are returning to a new crest.

The Messiah would be seen as the one to reclaim the Jewish people for a new age.  They supposed that it would be a new age of independence and self-governance.  They would be able to worship God without any foreign interference.

But this Gospel is also written following the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Rome in 70 CE.  It is apparently clear that there's not going to be any self-governance as an independent country anytime soon.  

What does it mean to have a Messiah that leads us out of exile even while we may be living as strangers in a strange land?

When the world turns upside down, what does it mean to claim faith in God even when the deck seems stacked against you?

Matthew is positioning Jesus as a Messiah who will speak to a changing world but is rooted in the faith that has stood the test of time.  

As we move into Lent and as we attend Ash Wednesday services today, how do we allow our history to anchor us in our faith?  How does acknowledging our own mortality free us from many of the pressures of life?  And how do the ashes imposed in the sign of the cross point to a Messiah that will go the distance on behalf of love?

Prayer for the day:

O God, maker of every thing and judge of all that you have made, from the dust of the earth you have formed us and from the dust of death you would raise us up.  By the redemptive power of the cross, create in us clean hearts and put within us a new spirit, that we may repent of our sins and lead lives worthy of your calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer by Laurence Hull Stookey, Pennsylvania-Delaware Conference of The United Methodist Church, 20th Century

Photo from John via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.