Change Me

Ash Wednesday – March 5, 2025

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
Psalm 51:1-17
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Luther called psalm 51 the doctrine of true repentance. That is, in part, why we pray the psalm on Ash Wednesday. It is used in many places in our liturgy in part and whole. We all know the line, ”Create in us a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” The psalm has also been used to formulate doctrine of the church – although some of what it has been used to justify is a misreading of it. But that is not what we focus on today. We focus on the penitential side of it. First, a brief history. While the heading (which we did not read) tells us that this was David’s penitential cry after Nathan confronted him about his affair with Bathsheba, it is not that old. The core of the psalm was written in the time of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah – a time when the Israelites had abandoned God’s covenant. It was changed and edited after the Babylonia captivity (maybe more than once) to reflect new situations in the life of the Israelites. 

The psalm stands on the pillar of God’s graciousness and love for the psalmist sees that is the only hope the people have. If God is not merciful they will not be forgiven for their sins were too great. In fact the psalmist recognizes that his whole self is sinful. That is why the psalmist asks God to create a new heart and renew a right spirit within. He is asking God to change him because he knows that he cannot do it himself. That is true repentance. Knowing that you are sinful and cannot heal yourself. That is what we confessed today and reminded that you are dust and to dust you shall return. This stands in contradiction to what we have been told by society. For we are constantly being bombarded by the opposite message. Do whatever you want. You deserve what you have. Actually you deserve more. But those who try to convince you of this are only out for themselves. They promise a better life – but it ends up only being better for them and not you. I wonder if the seemingly explosion of the countless opportunities for therapy is a reflection of the shattering of this lie in people’s lives. I am not against therapy here. I am against the false promises of the world that we are always given and often buy into.

True repentance is recognizing that we do not live up to God’s expectations and, at times, even go against God’s wishes. That is what we are about today. Remembering all the past times that we have believed we can ‘go it alone’ and do not need God or anyone else. While this is the constant message we receive from the world, it is not the life Jesus calls us into. In fact, as the psalmist wrote, we cannot change ourselves; we are sinful and unclean. Only God can change us. We all need a new heart. We all need a right spirit put within us. That is what Lent reminds us of. The works of Lent help us to open ourselves up to the probing and painful encounter with God. Take on those works – prayer, fasting, and the works of love – and let God change and renew your hardened heart.