Sermon preached by the Rev. Fulton Porter, III at St. Thomas Church
Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 103:8-14; 2 Cor. 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Kill the Spider
In the name of the One who bled, suffered and died for us, and by whose stripes we are healed,
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen
There was once a man who continually rededicated his life to God and always prayed the same prayer, "Lord, take the cobwebs out of my life." His pastor had heard this prayer more times than he cared to remember. Finally, when the man uttered that prayer into his pastor's ear at the altar rail, the pastor responded with a prayer of his own, "Lord, kill the spider!"
As we begin this season of preparation for the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we prepare to enter into eternity in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for us, we would all do well to remember the prayer of the pastor, “Lord, kill the spiders.” These spiders represent more than just an insect, but these metaphorical spiders intersect at the junction of time and the everlasting and act as a focal point for repentance and self-examination during this holy season.
Lent calls us to focus our attention on the spiders in our lives; spiders which spin webs that cloud our actions, thoughts and perceptions. They spin webs, which prevent us from being reconciled to God and our neighbor. They spin webs that strangle our relationships, clog our path to God, and are indicative of a life which, at times, has been neglected, gathering dust and not well kept; webs, which trap us in our own sin and hypocrisy. These webs, which entangle our lives, are the byproduct, the result of, the symptom of the many sinful tendencies and frailties, which affect the human person.
In our home, there can, at any given time, be seen several cobwebs which seem to appear spontaneously. They attach themselves to corners and ceilings always in places where they are only conspicuous upon careful examination. As soon as one is removed, another materializes. Sometimes I even walk into these invisible nuisances, which from time to time crisscross an entire room. Rarely do I ever detect the spider responsible, yet with a close, very close inspection, I can sometimes find it. But I continue to dust the webs, and they always come back.
I discussed this problem with my exterminator, and he said that there was nothing he could do. There is no poison he could apply which would destroy the spiders because they don’t eat with their legs. This mode of eating is necessary for them to ingest any poison scattered over the house. The best we could do, he said, was to kill them when we see them. One thing I realized, however, is that I cannot kill all the spiders. It is not only impossible to kill them all, but they are sometimes impossible to detect. Yet there is one who is the maker of heaven and earth who by his own blood and through his own death can destroy all the spiders, which spin webs that disrupt our lives. He is the Supreme Exterminator whose treatments can cure the problem once and for all if we would but yield to him. We must realize that we have a problem. We must realize that we can’t fix it, and then we must place a call in to our Supreme Exterminator.
This is what lent is about. Lent calls us to acknowledge our manifold sins and weaknesses and then rely on the savior of the world, who through his death heals our infirmities. Lent calls us to take inventory. Lent calls us to take inventory of our mortality and shortcomings. Lent calls us to take inventory of our priorities in this life. Lent calls us to inventory and discover where our heart is based upon where we store our treasure. Do we treasure the temporalities of life, the material things which will pass away, or have we stored up for ourselves treasure in heaven so that we can follow the call of Isaiah to become instruments of justice on the earth?
My Brothers and sisters in Christ, I invite us to the realization that we are but dust and unto dust we shall return, and that we may at times suffer in this earthly life. I also invite us to the realization that through our baptism, we entered into the suffering of Christ, but Glory be to God, we will also share in his glorious resurrection: a resurrection from death and the grave,a resurrection from our fears and insecurities, a resurrection from our lives of spiritual disconnection, a resurrection from our addictions and anything else, which might keep us from God’s best.
Let us dedicate ourselves to a holy lent and rise from the ashes as new creatures;
