Rev. Dr. Bary R. Fleet - Pastor
February 6, 2008 - Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17       
2nd Corinthians 5:20b-6:10   
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Hope from the Ashes

Major Barbara Sherer was an Army chaplain deployed in Kuwait in 2003.  She tells of a fire that raced through a complex of five large tents.  This was the central dining area … and also included was an area for religious services. The timing of the fire couldn’t have been better in that it was on Sunday morning – after breakfast had been served and the Catholic mass - but before the Protestant worship service.  So, very few people were in the tents, and those that were got out quickly and safely.  Had the fire occurred a little before or afterwards, the results could have been tragic.

But listen to – as Paul Harvey says – “the rest of the story.”

The fire occurred on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  As Chaplain Sherer was thinking through the upcoming week, she realized that in the haste of her deployment, thinking about ashes for the Ash Wednesday service simply got lost.  The fire gave her an inspiration:  What about using ashes from the tent fire?

Her idea was something to the effect that out of the tragedy came something good.

She went to her commander and asked permission, which was granted.  She then went to the folks who were doing the mop-up of the fire … putting out hot spots and making sure that it didn’t spread.  The area was cordoned off by yellow police tape, but she managed to get the attention of one of the fire-fighters and explained what she wanted.  He agreed and took the cup that she gave him.

He went over to one of the “cooler” spots and scooped up a cup of ashes.  Bringing it back, he asked if that was enough, and she assured him that it was.  She dropped the cup into a Ziplock bag and took it back to her quarters.

Tuesday night she decided to take out the ashes and see if they needed to be “ground” into more of a powder.  She had a plastic knife she was using and found something hard in the cup.  She pulled it out, and found a cross … a bit tarnished from the fire, but very much in tact, with the clearly legible writing:  “Jesus is Lord!”

What were the odds that out of all the acreage of canvas the one cup of ashes would contain a cross with this reminder?

To this day, Chaplain Sherer wears this cross on the same chain as her dog tags.  It is a reminder to her that where ever the Army sends her … what ever life brings her … through the fire, God is present … and God will rise out of the ashes and bring us along.

Maybe that is the best explanation of the meaning of what we are doing here today … marking ourselves with ashes.  The smudged cross of Ash Wednesday is a visible reminder that out of the ashes of our lives, God will raise us up.  Even out of the ashes of sin and suffering, God will raise us up!

The purpose of the Lenten Journey isn’t to bring us down – even though the tone can sometimes be more dark than light … because sometimes our lives seem more dark than light.  But the purpose of the Lenten journey is to remind ourselves that God is with us. 

So, as we travel – whatever Lenten discipline we choose to follow – may we remember the cross, and the promise that – in the end – God will raise us up!

By God’s grace, out of the ashes comes hope!

NOTE:  This sermon was taken in large measure from a sermon entitled “Hope from the Ashes” by David Leininger, found at www.esermons.com. and can be found in Collected Sermons, David E. Leininger, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2005, 0-000-0000-16