"GOOD GRIEF"
Ash Wednesday
February 26, 2020
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
"Yet even now," declares the Lord, "return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents over disaster.
Joel 2:12, 13 (ESV)
Back in the early 1960s a Lutheran hospital chaplain and seminary professor by the name of Granger Westberg wrote a little paperback book entitled Good Grief--and just in case you were wondering, it doesn't have anything at all to do with anyone or anything associated with the "Peanuts" comic strip! It's a little book about the grieving process. Dr. Westberg's main thesis in this book is that grief, no matter how unpleasant and painful an experience it may be, does not necessarily have to be a bad thing. In fact, it can be a very good thing for us if we handle it in the proper way. The value of grief is that it has the potential of making us aware of the fact that we're not self-sufficient--that we have needs. And once it makes us aware of that fact, it can then motivate us to seek help for the meeting of our needs, not only from our peers, but also (and especially) from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent--a penitential season that is often associated with and characterized by grief. During these next six and a half weeks we Christians will be grieving over our sin and all of its consequences. This feeling of grief ought to come to us quite naturally as we see our Savior suffering the most obvious consequence of our sin: the righteous judgment and condemnation of our perfectly just God. The experience of genuine repentance can and should be a good thing for us. After all, it is in these very wounds of Christ that our greatest needs are met, because it is here and nowhere else that we find true comfort, forgiveness, and healing. As we begin our annual Lenten pilgrimage this evening, let's seek to discover the value of grieving by analyzing each of the two words of Dr. Westberg's catchy title for his book: Good Grief.
Let's take a look at the second word first: grief. What is it that is so unpleasant about grief? Well, first of all there is the sense of loss. When a loved one, a cherished pet, or even an inanimate object that we hold dear dies or is removed from our life in some way, we grieve because we no longer "have" that person, animal, or thing. Our relationship with that person, animal, or thing is lost to us. In short, we have lost a part of our life--something that we have valued--something that has been precious to us. That's exactly why we grieve tonight and throughout the season of Lent: Whether we realize it or not, we have lost something because of sin. Our sin has taken our righteousness away from us. It has broken our relationship with God, depriving us of fellowship with Him and making us instead His enemies. We are no longer a reflection of His glory, bearing the perfect image of God with which we were created. Instead, because of our rebellion against Him we have made ourselves unacceptable--even offensive--in His sight. All of this certainly gives us ample reason to grieve.
Grief is unpleasant also because it is a very humbling experience (and no matter what anybody says or may want to believe, nobody really wants to be humbled). Grief is humbling because, when we grieve, our weakness and vulnerability are on display for all the world to see. Everyone can see our tears, our sadness, our anger, our guilt. All of those facades (those false appearances of strength and self-sufficiency that we like to display for the benefit of others) are suddenly and brutally torn down when, without warning, we find ourselves engulfed in grief. Once again, that is a very real and important part of what Ash Wednesday and the entire season of Lent are all about because, especially during these forty days, we are openly grieving over our sin. No excuses, no covering up, no placing the blame elsewhere; simply exposing our weakness and helplessness for what it is, and allowing it to be seen by all.
Now what could possibly be "good" about this kind of grief? This grief is good because, like so many unpleasant and painful things in life, God turns it around for our good. Our grief is good, not because it is good in itself, but because God has turned it into something good for us. It is good because God uses this grief caused by our sin to point us to the cross of Jesus Christ--the only place where we can find the forgiveness and reconciliation that bring us hope and comfort and even joy. The story of our grief and sorrow ultimately has a happy ending, because in Christ God has overcome sin, death, and hell for us. Because the "Man of Sorrows [who was] acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3) "has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4), we will be glorified on the last day in spite of our sin, being raised from the dead and clothed not with our own miserable works, but with the perfect righteousness of our Savior Jesus Christ.
What's good about our grief? It prepares us for joy. It makes us hungry for happiness. And in so doing it makes us appreciate that joy and happiness so much more. You know, it's almost a standing joke among practicing Christians that everybody goes to church on Easter Sunday. In this secular and anti-Christian age, that may not be as true as it once was, but most churches are still more crowded than usual on that joyful feast day. Sometimes those of us who are here faithfully week after week start feeling a little cheated because so many are at worship for the feast of Easter without enduring the fast of Lent and the agony of Good Friday, not to mention the responsibility of everyday worship and praise. But consider this: Who really appreciates health until he is sick? Who really appreciates sunshine until he has experienced clouds and rain? Sure, there are a lot of people in church on Easter Sunday, but only those who have watched and prayed with the Savior through His suffering and death will catch all of the joy and fully appreciate all of the glory of His resurrection from the dead. In the same way, only those who really feel the grief of their guilt and sin can fully appreciate the joy of their forgiveness in Christ.
Yes, Lent is a time of grief--a time when God reminds us that we are helpless and hopeless sinners who have no right to stand in His glorious presence. But the same God who wounds us with His perfect Law also heals us with the equally perfect and precious Gospel of His slain and risen Son. This time of grief is so valuable to us because it prepares us for the joy of salvation. So let us grieve over our sin--not with the kind of fatal grief that drove Judas Iscariot into hopeless despair, but with grief like that of Peter--grief that produces the bitter tears of repentance. By the power of His Spirit, working through His Word of Law and Gospel, God will surely bless our Lenten observance, empowering us to spend these next forty days in good grief.
Amen.
May the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, making us kings and priests before His God and Father, lead you to a life of repentance and trust. May He also be glorified in the lives of you, His people. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.