Your Forever Valentine,
Rising from the Ashes
A Sermon for Ash Wednesday
February 14th, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Redeemer and Our Savior's Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, SD
Audio of this sermon available HERE
Two ancient, annual, and Christian
observations collide this afternoon/evening.
One, Valentine’s Day, is ancient and still widely observed, although
corrupted beyond recognition. The other,
Ash Wednesday, is ancient and largely neglected. Indeed it is mocked and eclipsed in popular
culture by the party that just precedes it.
This pre-Lent party goes by several names: Mardi Gras, Carnaval, or Fat
Tuesday, parties that are at turns gluttonous, lewd and decadent. What are we to make of all this, in this A+D 2024,
when Valentines and Ash Wednesday coincide?
Well, as the mythical Phoenix rises from
the ashes to reveal its new life, the true King of this Ash Wednesday, (and of
every other day) will rise in our hearts and dispel our confusion and distress.
By His Spirit He will point us to a brighter day, illuminated, ironically with
an ashen cross, a symbol of hope for those wise unto salvation.
Which is older: St. Valentine’s Day, or Ash
Wednesday? We would say St. Valentine’s
Day, which was declared a feast day by the Roman Church in 496 A+D. Ash Wednesday as we observe it didn’t really
get established until sometime in the 11th century. But, repenting in dust and ashes goes back
much further, at least to Job. And of
course the Lord reminded Adam, as He drove him and his wife out of Eden, that
he was dust, and to dust he would return.
You can barely get any older than that event, which is the negative
touchstone, upon which, partially, our Ash Wednesday observance is built. 
St. Valentine is most likely an amalgamation
of three or four different heroes of the Early Church, all named
Valentinus. They were pastors or other
servants of the Church who stood up to evil and paid for it with their
lives. Worthy of our consideration. But
as we still do with our heroes today, the truth becomes too boring, or too
spare, or too difficult to consider. We
want extra stories of amazing, brave and even miraculous deeds. And so, many legends were appended to the
memory of these Valentinuses.
Their faithful ministry and martyrs’ deaths,
which led the Church to celebrate February 14th as St Valentine’s
Day in the first place, receded into history.
Slowly the romantic, shallow, and saccharine sweet traditions which make
up our Valentine’s Day took over.
Jesus promised His disciples that they would
do greater works than He did, after the Resurrection. Instead of a day to see this promise
fulfilled in the faithful and brave words and actions of Christ’s followers,
Valentine’s Day all too often is a guilt or shame trap. Many are guilted into spending too much in
order to please their significant other.
Many others pass the day in quiet sadness, as they worry they are the
only soul left in the world without a significant other.
We might be tempted to burn it all down, and
forget St. Valentine forever. But, since
there’s money to be made selling flowers, candy, expensive dinners and whatever
else on February 14th, Valentine’s will not be discarded
easily. We might try, but likely
Valentine’s Day would rise from the ashes, like the mythical bird, the
Phoenix. Trying to get rid of
Valentine’s Day in our culture would be a fool’s errand. And besides, kindergarten students exchanging
Valentine’s cards with their friends is a sweet and relatively harmless
tradition. Some husbands and wives, and
some future husbands and wives, do use the day well, as an opportunity to
simply and truly celebrate the love they share.
Rather than burning Valentines Day down,
what say we redeem it? In this Year of
Our + Lord 2024, when Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s coincide, let us accentuate
our Resurrected One, who, like the Phoenix legend, went through a fire, and
came out on the other side. Indeed, and whether
this was wise or not I’ll let the hearer consider, pious Christian writers
throughout the centuries have tried to use the legend of the Phoenix as a way
to introduce and proclaim the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. A beautiful and powerful being descends into
flames and dies, only to rise again, rising from the ashes of defeat to reveal
new life. Certainly, there are
similarities between Christ and the legend of the Phoenix.
Similarities, yes. But even more differences. For the Phoenix has never been seen. The date and place of its supposed death and
resurrection have always been hidden in the mists of time. And the significance of the Phoenix is left
to the interpretation of those who ponder its legend.
Not so our Christ. In a specific, known place, at a specific
point in known human history, a particular man, Jesus of Nazareth, died on a
Roman cross, suffering the baptism by fire appointed for Him by His Father. He did this to buy the whole world back from
the damning accusation of Satan. Five
hundred eyewitnesses, led by the Apostles, boldly confessed the truth of Jesus,
recorded the writings we cherish as the New Testament, and faced incredible
trials and suffering with confidence and eternal joy, all because they had seen
and believed. And blessed are those who
have not seen, and yet have believed, by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit,
that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the only way for sinners to come
to Father.
The specific historicity of the Gospel
narrative allows critics and scoffers to try to disprove the Christ event. But they fail, and they always will fail. Indeed, while we have only scant evidence to
support the existence and deeds of the various men named Valentinus, the
existence and impact and reality of Jesus are un-assailed by serious historians. Unbelievers can and do still deny the miracle
of His Resurrection. But the evidence
that Jesus lived, and taught, and was crucified outside Jerusalem around the
year 30 A.+D., is beyond reasonable doubt.
And there’s more evidence to consider. The growth of the Church the disciples of
Jesus founded is indisputable, and incomparable. From a few hundred backwater Jewish
Christians to a movement that took over the Roman Empire in 400 years. How did this happen? Why were they so bold?
Because Jesus really did rise from the
ashes. On the Cross He suffered the
worst that humanity had to inflict. Even
more, much more, He passed through the Hell of fire that human sin deserves,
burying our guilt in His own body and paying our debt to God, once and for
all. Then, on the third day Christ rose
again to reveal the love of God, poured out for all sinners. The Phoenix pretends to rise from the dead to
inspire misguided people to strive towards a better life. Jesus rose to forgive and renew and claim dying
sinners as His very own. He rose to
share His indestructible life, a free gift, for all who trust in Him.
Whoever the various Valentinuses were and
whatever they did, they along with thousands upon thousands of other Christians
went to their deaths confessing the Name of Jesus, their Risen Savior. Brave Christians today continue to face
persecution and death, rather than deny Christ Jesus.
On this Ash Wednesday, we begin again a six-week
journey with Jesus, to Golgotha, that we might grow in our faith, and learn
again to abhor our sin and love our Savior.
Knowing how God brings victory from defeat and life out of death, we
step off on our journey marked with Ashen Crosses, knowing that He who passed
through the fire for us is still with us.
He will bring us through to the
end, to enjoy His victory, come what may.
A Happy, Ashy
Valentine to you all, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment