Author: lakewooducc

In Psalm 51, traditionally read on Ash Wednesday, there is the verse, “Create in me a clean heart.” What makes a heart dirty? Or maybe we can think of it as tarnished? Or maybe marred? What damages or taints our hearts?

Well, with the physical heart, one answer is stress. Many heart problems and heart conditions, including high blood pressure, are associated with stress. As an antidote to this, sometimes we think about balancing high stress with de-stress, and then become compulsive about meditation, or yoga, or exercise, or other things that reduce stress. But as we schedule our de-stressors and try to fit them in and rush to make sure we are de-stressing, it is almost as if the relief becomes another stressor!

Another source of stress is multitasking. Experts say that focussing on one thing at a time is less stressful and more productive in the long run. Doing several things at once can mean doing nothing well, and even creating more problems. For example, if you are trying to text while driving because you are in a hurry, and then hit the curb and blow a tire and have to change it, far from saving time, you have wasted time, and money.

This gives us insight into having a “clean” heart. Some scholars say that the meaning of clean is really akin to the meaning of pure. Pure implies completely what it is supposed to be. No additives or impurities. When we think of having a pure heart, we can think about a heart that is devoted to one thing. A heart that is not distracted or diffused or fragmented. The Psalm invites us to devote our hearts purely and completely and undistractedly to the God of steadfast love and mercy. This is an invitation to center our hearts on the love of God and that alone. That is to be our focus. God is to be at our center filling us with love.

This kind of focus reduces and eliminates distractions. When we concentrate on love as the center, the sense of being fragmented fades. Our sense of purpose increases. We may, in fact, end up being busier and having more going on when our hearts are given to God alone. Look at Jesus, the peripatetic healer/preacher always on the go. But when our hearts are focused, we will not feel torn, and divided, and broken. We will feel purposeful and centered.

How do we do this, this creating of a pure heart, a clean heart, a whole heart. focused on God? We can cultivate this by consciously increasing our awareness, our consciousness of God. This can happen through regular prayer, through reading of scripture, through participation in worship, and other disciplines that help us stay tuned in. It takes regular attention. Try to think of one thing that you can work into your daily routine to help stay centered on God. As your heart becomes more pure or clean or whole, what you do may not change very much, but how you feel about it may change a lot.

Prayer:
This Lenten season, we seek the freedom which comes when we center our lives in God. This decreases the pull of other forces and influences in our lives. In this way, we hope to feel less fragmented and more whole. We do not want to be slaves to our calendars, our bills, our volunteer work, our families, our jobs, our schoolwork, our bills, our clubs, or even our churches. May we focus on the center, God’s love, and then everything else will fall into its proper place and we will truly be free. We see this in Jesus. May we cultivate it in ourselves. Amen.

Ash Wednesday is a time to remember our essence. When something is burned, it turns to ash. Only the most basic essence remains. Lent it a time to return our lives to our essence as human beings created to embody divine love. That is our essence. So Lent is a time to clear away all that detracts and distracts from that essence. It is a time to purify and clarify.

Ashes are used to fertilize the ground for planting. They are used for cleaning. They are used to foster growth and clarity. Ashes are also the “stuff” of the earth. They remind us that we are part of the very “stuff” of creation, just like the dirt, and the air, and the rocks, and the trees. When a tree burns, you get ash. When a building burns, you get ash. When a person burns, you get ash. All of it is the stuff of creation. The miracle is that we are here, having this experience we call life, as opposed to not being here, not existing, not having been created.

This is a season to return to our essence. And in that process, we will find ourselves freed of the many things that distract us from our full experience as human beings created to embody divine love. This season, we will use the Psalms as a window to explore how our faith frees us from all that would diminish our experience of full and abundant life. Look for a posting each day and feel free to add your responses and reflections!