Ash Wednesday

February 14, 2018

Readings:

First Reading – Joel 2: 12-18

Psalm 51

Second Reading – 2 Corinthians 5: 20 – 6: 2

Gospel reading according to Matthew (6: 1-6, 16-18)

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Homily: 

Jesus made warning to his disciples and to us with regards on public display and hypocrisy of their and our holiness and religious practices.   “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you have no recompense from your heavenly Father’.” (Mt. 6: 1).  There is nothing wrong in doing righteous deeds.  These make us closer to God especially when we can serve our least brothers and sisters.  What is not good in the eyes of the Lord God and in Jesus is that we do (righteous) deeds to show to others that we are righteous and kind, that we are blowing our own horn; boasting our own righteousness to others.  Our deeds become a show off, bragging one’s own self, to shout in the whole world that we do these and that, rather than giving back the goodness we received from God to others in simple and humble way(s).  And in return, God reward us for the deeds we have made to our brothers and sisters who were in need, otherwise, we already received the rewards from the people we served instead from God.

As we celebrate the Ash Wednesday today, as a sign of repentance, fasting and penance for our sins we have done.  Also, Ash Wednesday as it is derived its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday, and placing them on the heads of repentant penitents to the accompaniment of the words “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Roman Missal).  It is the beginning of Lenten season, where Jesus Christ spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting in the wilderness, where he endured temptations by Satan. Lent originated on these 40 days fasting and penance and after the passion, death on the Cross and the resurrection on Easter.  On this day also, ashes are ceremonially placed on the heads of Christians either by being sprinkled over their heads or more often by being marked on their foreheads as a visible sign of the cross. The words, based on Genesis 3:19, used traditionally to accompany this gesture are: “Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.” (“Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return.”).  In the 1969 revision of the Roman Rite, an alternative formula, based on Mark 1:15, was introduced and given first place: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” and the older formula was translated as: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  The old formula, based on the words spoken to Adam and Eve after their sin, reminds us of our sinfulness and mortality and thus, implicitly, of the need to repent in time.  The newer formula makes clear what was only implied in the old.

There are three ways in doing righteous deeds as Jesus told to his disciples and passed on to us: 1. almsgiving, 2. prayer, and 3. fasting.  These three deeds, on the one hand, make us holy and on the other hand, make us proud and blasphemous in the eyes of God if we will use them to uplift ourselves instead of God.

As what Jesus said in regards to almsgiving, “When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogue and in the streets to win the praise of others.  Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right [hand] is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Mt. 6: 2-4).   Nowadays, if you give alms to the beggars in the street, when policeman sees you, he will scold you, fine you, and up to putting you in jail for violating the city ordinances with regards of giving money to the street beggars. “Bawal ng magbigay ng pera sa mga pulubi sa lansangan.  Huhulihin ka.”  When you give alms, keep it secret, between you and the beggar, nobody sees you so that nobody will give you a clap.  That is your only reward here on earth.  But the God who sees you, a much and better recompense you will receive from Him in heaven.

Another righteous deed is prayer.  Jesus said: “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that others may see them.  Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Mt. 6: 5-6).  There is also a community prayer where all members of the Church community pray together.  This kind of prayer is prayed in public as public worship.  What Jesus referring to was private or individual prayer.  We do not have to show to the public/madlang-tao that we are prayerful persons; that’s why this kind of people prayed in public places where many people can see them praying, and they already received their rewards from people’s appreciation and applause.  Therefore, it is not necessary to present ourselves praying individually in public places where we can pray in private places, like in our rooms, where nobody can see us so that we cannot brag ourselves that we are prayerful persons, that we are holy men and women. You should not tell anybody also that you are going to pray.  But instead, go to your room, lock its door and pray there to your Father in heaven.  And the Father who is in heaven is the one who will give you a reward.

Last but not the least righteous deed is fasting.  Jesus said to his disciples and to us: “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.  They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting.  Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden.  And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you” (Mt. 6: 16-18).  Nowadays also, fasting is no longer as a sign of repentance but of maintenance of body figure, especially for women.  They fast or do not eat much food to avoid a chubby, fat and figureless body but to retain their sexy bodies.  The meaning of fasting is lost.  The religious aspects of fasting are changed by physical appearance, healthy body, and longer life instead of amending one’s life.   

In all of these, Jesus does not want us to become like those hypocrites.  No disciple of him is hypocrite, that is one who wears plastic mask (maskara) to hide and cover his/her true identity and reality, his/her true self.  A hypocrite person denies what he/she is capable of.  Outside he/she is good but deep inside he/she’s living in the dark and narrow mind and heart.  He/she lives in imagination.  Why he/she cannot accept his/her real self?  What makes him/her hinder to change his/her self for the better rather than living in fantasy and hypocrisy?  The ashes in our foreheads must look us happy but not funny must remind us rather to bring us closer to God by doing internal and secret righteous deeds of almsgiving, prayer and fasting for ourselves and for others.