TREASURES OF THE HEART
As we begin the Lenten season and look forward to our celebration of the resurrection we need to understand the fullness of God's love and mercy, about which the prophet Joel declares, " 'Even now return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love" (Joel 2:12-13).
That love and mercy of our Lord enables us to reach out to others and share with them the salvation from our God' saying to them what the apostle Paul says to us, "Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor 5:20b-2l; 6:2b).
By ourselves, we aren't able to do that. We are like Jonah, angry and displeased with all the sin we see around us. We are people who want to declare God's judgment on the world of sin and then wait for the wrath of God to be shown upon them.
But the "show" has already taken place. Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom, Satan fell from heaven, his head was crushed, and we won!
And now comes the calm -- the calm of the resurrection, the peace that passes understanding. Now comes God's love and mercy to a world of sin and his call to us to "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. ... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6:20-2l).
The ashes of Ash Wednesday are a witness, a witness to our faith, and as such, a witness to God's love and mercy for the world. The ashes of this day remind us of the psalmist's prayer to the Lord, "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy" (Ps 30:11).
In our Sunday morning worship we pray, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me" (Ps 51:1~l2). That prayer has been answered through the Holy Spirit bringing us to faith in the first place and continuing to lead us forward in faith. As we confess our own helplessness and sinfulness before our God, we discover something truly surprising.
The treasures of the heart that Christ invites us to store up have been stored up for us. We don't have to look somber or disfigure our faces because "now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor 6:2). We are not alone! God is with us!
"Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast!" (Joel 2:15-16) "For," as Jesus says to us,"where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Mt 6:21). The treasures of the heart that we need and desire are ours, now, because of Jesus, by the power of his Spirit.
Join us for worship this Lenten season and for Holy Week!
Your Pastor,
Rev. Richard A. Salcido
