“This is a day like no other day, and you are there.” Those words of Walter Cronkite prepared the TV viewer for a momentous occasion like the assignation of Julius Caesar or the signing of Magna Charta by King John. Intoned when scanning a calendar page it makes this Wednesday astonishingly different from every other for the sooty adjective that stands before it. Today is known for the curious ritual act of smearing palm ash into the pours of our foreheads while hearing God’s words to Adam and Eve, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return (Gen 3:19).” Is that the curse of an angry God, or a kind of wakeup call reminding those who are made in the image and likeness of God that they have a part to play in building up God’s righteous kingdom? We’ll ponder the possibilities, but one thing is certain, the reminder of our mortality penetrates as deeply and jarringly as the 2:15 am ringing of the phone and the emotion strained voice confirming the death of a dear friend.

“This is a day like no other day, and you are there.” To prepare the viewer for the climactic event about to be portrayed, the screenwriter provides a frame of reference, introducing us to the various characters and the parts they play. So too does the liturgy on this day. The spiritual practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting mentioned in today’s gospel are not meant to stand alone. They appear in the much larger frame known as the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7 of Matthew’s gospel. Preceding that  Matthew tells us Jesus began preaching the gospel of the kingdom, calling disciples, and had gained a reputation as a healer (ch  4). Then Matthew opens an extended teaching event in which Jesus instructs his disciples and the crowds that followed about life in the kingdom of God. For those familiar with the biblical imagery Matthew sets the scene making Jesus the new Moses who was given the Law of God on Mt Sinai and descends the mountain to teach the children of Israel how they were to live in relationship with God and one another.

            In this extended sermon the spiritual practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting are mentioned as staple items of the lives of God’s people. These were not new disciplines.  Rather they were time honored practices which unfortunately could easily be reduced to token gestures. Drawing on the passage from Isaiah 58 God’s people will often need a corrective teaching, in this case regarding fasting, for their well intentioned custom of fasting had taken the place of loving God and neighbor. It is equally true that it would be inappropriate to judge people of another time and place if I don’t make a critical assessment of my own experience.

It is easy to fall into the trap of familiarity. My father accepted the Episcopal way of life when he married. He and my mother were the pathologists at a Catholic hospital in LA where no meat on Fridays was common practice. Fish was the appropriate substitute during the 40s and 50s, the fare of common folk for whom beef was still expensive. The Friday fast was customary discipline in the Episcopal Church as well, so a fish fare became the ritual at home as well. A good thing, to eat a little less red meat, we’d say. Except, it didn’t matter that the meal could be lobster Newburg, swordfish steaks, or another fancy dish, as long as it was seafood. Go figure!

            Jesus was not introducing the idea of spiritual practices to his hearers. Rather they had become cultic rituals full of showy techniques. Instead they needed to become personally transformative habits to call believers into a closer relationship with God and others. That is why these practices are an integral part of the larger whole Jesus called life in the kingdom of God. Let’s go back to the way Matthew set the scene. As Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount he enunciated the blessings, the Beatitudes that describe the culture of God’s kingdom. Those who know their need for God, those who mourn, the merciful and the peacemakers, will find their home in the realm of God’s love. His disciples would be light in the world, salt for the earth. Then he offered examples of God’s righteousness that his disciples would demonstrate in interpersonal relationships which included contending with the death dealing effects of anger, how unchecked desire was as damaging as adultery, how swearing oaths even by all that is holy is no more productive and good than an honest yes or no, how refusing to return evil for evil is a cardinal rule of kingdom relationships.

He moved on to the three spiritual disciplines in today’s gospel and he changed from addressing his hearers in a general way, using the plural you, to a very individual and person way, the singular you: when you give, when you pray, when you fast. The kingdom of God advances with the conversion of one heart at a time. Laws and public affirmations are a good start, but until I determine to follow the law, though it is at some personal inconvenience, I have not made a genuine commitment. The law recently passed banning the use of hand held cell phones while driving is recognized as common sense, but neither good sense or a stiff fine is keeping drivers from using their  phones. Texting may be worse. With so many potentially inattentive drivers on the road I have serious questions about safety on the road, especially around schools, parking lots, hospitals and transportation centers, any place people gather.

            Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with the parable of the person who built a house on rock verses the person who built a house on sand. Battered by wind and rain and faced with rising water only the house built on the firm granite foundation survived. So the members of God’s kingdom must commit themselves to the serious effort necessary to build something that will last. Careless preparations and workmanship yields tragedy for oneself and those we love. Human beings are adept at self-deception. We figure we are the exception to the rule, so we stand too close to the action, built close to the surf, high on the hill, deep in the forest, and test the odds of extreme living. The Sermon on the Mount and the three spiritual practices of almsgiving, prayer and fasting, in particular, are not about extreme living, but about how members of the kingdom live together to the glory of God and the sanctification of all.

            Have we even thought that these three spiritual practices are not primarily for my benefit but to create a safety net of holiness for all God’s children? Almsgiving for my sake would yield a healthy savings account. A prayer practice that was self-fulfilling would be an ego-booster. If fasting were to benefit me I’d have a successful diet. Instead we invest ourselves in these practices to gain a deeper insight into our dependence on God, the source of our every necessity, which turns us into compassionate neighbors and caregivers of the person next to us in the checkout line, the student preparing for their life’s work, our spouse or partner.

“This is a day like no other day, and you are there.” Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten season, six weeks in which the community of believers can test ourselves and develop good spiritual habits that carry us through Easter and beyond. We are called into kingdom building, not just easy living. The effort expended will return in blessing, for the Father who sees in secret will reward you.