Fasting & Feasting
Ash Wednesday may, by this point, be a distant memory. We’re no longer concerned about inadvertently smudging the ashes already smeared on our foreheads, or inspecting the handiwork of other priests displayed on the foreheads of friends and co-workers. We’ve washed our faces and moved on with our lives, that small act of piety now far removed. What of those small acts of piety that we do? How are we to think of them in light of Jesus’ words in Matt 6?
But when you fast anoint your head and wash your face…
Matthew 6:17
We must bear in mind that it is not the profession of faith or the performance of faith which signals our place in the kingdom of God (justifies us before God). Only the possession of faith in the finished work of Christ marks us as true citizens of his Kingdom (alone gives us standing before a holy God).
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Sunday’s Readings
Isaiah 58
Psalm 130
Matthew 6:16-18
Questions to Consider
Have you ever wondered whether or not you’re in the kingdom of God?
How would you know?
What are some reasons people mistakenly believe they’re in the kingdom?