The Standard

Ash Wednesday                                                                                                          March 6, 2019
Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette

The ashes don’t do anything, you know. At least, not like the sacraments. The sacraments always give grace, even if we do not accept it. The ashes are what we call a sacramental. They don’t give us grace. They’re just there to help us use the grace we’ve been given already. And yet, Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular days of the year. It seems like everyone, even many non-Catholics go out of their way just to get some dirt smeared on their foreheads. Why?

Because the ashes are a symbol and symbols matter. Just look at how people react to the American flag or to any one of the millions of logos organizations use to identify themselves. The ashes are just like that. Now, in other countries they just sprinkle the ashes on top of the head, but we… we tend to smear a big cross right on the forehead for everyone to see. Some say it is vanity, a way of showing off. Some say it is hypocrisy… Given that fact that human beings are involved, there is definitely some vanity and hypocrisy going on.

Still, the cross on the forehead is a great echo of something else. Most of you don’t remember, but all of you once heard these words “the Church of God welcomes you with great joy. In its name I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents (and godparents) to do the same.”

Those words come right at the beginning of a baptism. “I claim you by the sign of the cross.” In ancient wars and in some ways still, a very important position in the army was the standard-bearer: the one who carries the flag. Tactically, it seems useless to hold a flag while others wield swords and guns and yet they did it. And when a standard-bearer fell, another took up the flag and continued.

Our national anthem, the iconic image of planting the flag at Iwo Jima – these both show us how important a standard, a symbol of our nation can be. How much more important is the standard, the great symbol of the Christian faith is! When you were marked with the cross at Baptism, you enlisted, you joined the Church of God – the great military of the Kingdom of Heaven, the one force guaranteed to conquer the whole world… eventually.

But that symbol, that standard is a cross for a reason. Our conquest is not through overpowering the enemy, but in being overpowered by him. Our general, Jesus Christ, won victory by dying. Dust to dust, human beings are doomed to die. So we trace a cross – an instrument of execution – on your foreheads with ashes – a reminder of your inevitable death. And yet, it is a glorious standard, a sign of belonging, a promise of victory.

The whole Christian life is a battle against sin and the devil. Lent is a focused time of spiritual combat, 40 days of special ops. Go ahead and wear the ashes proudly and let others see it. But remember, they don’t do anything. They are a sign, a symbol that you are a Christian – a solider willing to die for Jesus Christ if not literally, then metaphorically by rejecting sin and the ways of the world.

The battle is won with love and love requires sacrifice. The battle is fought not on the ground or in social media or in congress. It is fought in secret, in your hearts and minds corrupted by sin. So bear your standard well; Conquer yourself first by prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Then your Father who sees in secret will repay you. Conquer your neighbor and your enemy by love, even if it is secret, if it is a love they do not recognize. Then your Father who sees in secret will repay you. Bear the cross not just today on your forehead, but every day, in secret, in your hearts. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.