The author Philip Slater begins his observation on American culture by telling
the story of a man who sought escape from the prattle of his neighbors and moved
into a hut he found on the edge of a forest. A bitter winter led him to cut down
all the trees around the hut for firewood, but the next summer he sweltered because
he had no shade and he complained bitterly of the hostile elements. He made a
garden and kept some chickens, but rabbits were attracted to the garden and began
eating it, so he trapped a fox, tamed it, and taught it to catch the rabbits,
but the fox ate the chickens as well. The man shot the fox and cursed the perfidy
of the creatures of the wild. The man always threw his refuse on the floor of
his hut and soon it swarmed with vermin. He then built an ingenious system of
hooks and pulleys so everything in the hut could be suspended from the ceiling.
However the strain was too much for the roof of the hut and it collapsed on top
of him. The man grumbled about the inferior construction of the hut as he built
himself a new one. One day he boasted to relatives in his old village about the
beauty surrounding his home. His relatives were so impressed and reported back
to their neighbors who soon began to use the area for picnics. The man was upset
by their presence and cursed their intrusiveness. He began posting signs, setting
traps, and shooting at those who came near his dwelling. In revenge, groups of
boys would come at night from time to time to frighten him and steal things. The
man took to sleeping every night on a chair by the window with a loaded shotgun
across his knees. One night he turned in his sleep and shot his foot, severely
crippling him. The villagers were chastened and saddened by his misfortune and
thereafter stayed away from his part of the forest. The man became lonely and
cursed the unfriendliness and indifference of his neighbors. In all this the man
saw no agency except what lay outside himself, for which reason and because of
his ingenuity, the villagers called him the American.
Transference
of blame and pointing the finger is epidemic in our society. Filling stations
for ego enlargement are growing faster than Wal-Mart. However, it is nothing new
in the world. The Bible offers us an insight into such behavior from the start.
Genesis is the ancient introduction to the long record of God seeking the reconciliation
and healing of humanity. By means of a timeless story it describes the basic brokenness
that begins when humanity begins to shift the blame to others for its own plight.
Genesis is unrelentingly clear that with the choices we make, comes the responsibility
to own up to those choices. Hiding and avoiding the consequences of our choices
is like children who think that by putting their hands in front of their faces
they can avoid what is in front of them. While we have a long history of making
wrong choices that oppose and disable the gifts God offers us, we still have the
ability to acknowledge our poor choices, repent, turn to anther path, and change.
Ash Wednesday officially marks the beginning of Lent.
Pope Gregory the Great instituted Ash Wednesday as Italy as the country faced
plagues, famine, and political disintegration. Later the practice of marking people
with ashes came into widespread use. In the 17th century the English prayer book
dropped the ceremony of ashes because there was an aversion to the elaborate blessing
and elevation of material things and because it seemed to contradict the traditional
Gospel of the day which warned against parading one’s piety in public. Needless
to say, the day was still called Ash Wednesday, as opposed to Ashless Wednesday,
and the symbol of ashes remained a very powerful one. Our current prayer book
restored the Ashes in Ash Wednesday at an option, offering a prayer for our repentance
rather than a formal blessing of the ashes themselves. The point is Lent marks
a definitive time to recognize that there is a great gulf between the great promise
for humanity and where we are. It is a time allowing reflection, and turning.
Ashes whether actually imposed or not, is a sign of our failings and all the trash
we can’t seem to throw away. We know that all the New Year’s resolutions
and self-help seminars in the world will not solve our predicament. However Lent
is a time of profound hope. Its message to us is not only a plea to own up for
our actions but it affirms that despite all our unfortunate choices and denials
God wants us back.
We come here during this holy time
to lift up signs of God’s love in action. For example, often despite the
mistakes we make with our own children, our children love us anyway. Despite what
we inflict on those around us, those around us many times are remarkably patient
with us. The significance of repentance is always tied to the assurance of God’s
grace and divine and prevailing power of forgiveness. The history of people of
faith is not only the history of unfaithfulness, denial and futile blaming of
others. If it were that, the witness of the people of faith would have perished
centuries ago in the cauldron of its own stew of hate. That people of faith keep
the season of Lent is testimony to the amazing and inexhaustible reservoir of
divine mercy.
