For Wilshire Baptist Church
I’m not often amused by Ash Wednesday services – I probably never should be – but I was this year as we stood in line to receive ashes on our foreheads from Associate Pastor Darren DeMent. The person right in front of LeAnn was as tall as Darren and he had to reach up as high as his own head, and then it was LeAnn’s turn and he had to reach down. Credit to Darren for paying close attention, because if he had just been going through the motions, he might have painted the air above LeAnn’s head with ashes. In basketball terms, a total miss like that would have been an “air ball.”
Go to a college basketball game nowadays and you’ll see how the fans — the students really — are merciless when it comes to air balls. A player on the opposing team shoots an air ball and he is marked for the night. From then on out, every time he touches the ball the students chant “air ball, air ball, air ball.” I’ve never heard from a player whether that chant intimidates them or builds their resolve to do better, but I think it’s rude. We’ve all made mistakes in the classroom or on the job, but we usually don’t have a chorus of self-appointed experts not only calling us out for the mistake but reminding us of it long after it is over.
There are lots of messages and themes to ponder during Lent. It begins on Ash Wednesday with the stark reminder that we came from dust and will return to dust. It continues through Holy Week with the recalling of the trial, crucifixion and death of Jesus. Not only did he die as we will someday, but he died in a way that is more horrific than we can comprehend. And then on Easter Sunday, we are reminded that Jesus did not remain dead forever, and neither will we.
But before we can celebrate the joy and hope of Easter, we must experience the 40 days of Lent. Some use this as a time to give up things not needed in their lives or that are counterproductive to who they want to be. Some may not give up things so much as work on new practices and habits that will strengthen their faith and their relationship with God and with others.
In that regard, Lent is a time of preparation and practice – working to do better and be better – like a basketball player working on his shots. It’s often told how basketball great Larry Byrd built on his natural talent by spending hours in the gym, shooting the basketball over and over again from every possible angle. Even then, he probably shot some air balls every now and then during the heat of a game.
We will too. We’ll shoot too high or too low and completely miss sometimes. Thankfully, our God is not one to chant unmercifully over and over again about our misses, because I don’t believe God expects perfection. Instead, I believe God celebrates our effort, just as we might celebrate rather than mock the basketball player who shoots and misses.
Our God meets us where we are, whether tall or short, and leads us out of the ashes and into the eternal light.