Homily for Ash Wednesday (John 8:1-11)
Originally given 22 February 2023 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry
I recently read about a common Christian confusion between optimism and hope. Optimism is saying everything will be okay despite all your struggles, that your struggles will make you stronger. Hope is recognising that regardless of your struggles or triumphs, you will one day return to dust. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. It’s not a very cheerful concept, recognising our mortality, but it’s important that we do so. We are not immortal. We are not God. We are but dust.
In a few moments, when you come up to receive the ashes on your forehead I will say to you, ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.’ On this day, we remember our fleeting presence on this earth, and we are reminded how we should use that time – ‘turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.’
Some things are easier said than done. All of us struggle at times to turn away from sin. And even if we try to avoid personal sin, we are surrounded by corporate, systemic sin in the form of unjust structures enabling sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, and all other forms of prejudice. It can feel overwhelming when we consider we are part of an entire system that is broken.
But although it can feel overwhelming to look at the whole picture, we can still make a difference by looking at one piece at a time. One small act of justice. One embrace with a grieving friend. One piece of rubbish picked up off the street. One kind word to the person checking our groceries. In the Gospel, one by one, each individual person reflected on their own sins and walked away. They were individuals, but with their single action, the woman was saved from being stoned.
Everyday we are given the opportunity to take a single action that causes a ripple of difference. The other day Reverend Zoe reminded me of the starfish story. For those not familiar with the story, it’s about a young girl walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. Then a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!” So the little girl bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, ‘I made a difference for that one.’
Everyday we are surrounded by starfish waiting for us to make a difference for them in our small actions. Everyday we have the chance to turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ in our actions. Because there will come a day when we will no longer be able to act, when we will once again turn to dust. We are but mere mortals. But our actions of mercy, justice, and Christian love are immortal and will change the world.
So look with hope to the future in which we are all again dust, but the legacy of the Gospel lives on.
Reflections of a Christian 