We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us.

 

The scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Ash Wednesday | USCCB

Today we begin our 40-day journey of Lent. These 40 days will lead us to Holy Week where we will relive the Lord’s Supper, and His passion and death on the Holy Cross on Good Friday, and then His glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday Morning. These are the holiest days on the Christian calendar. We are meant to focus on our relationship with God and attempt to grow ever closer to Him through prayer, fasting, and good works.

In our gospel for today, our Lord outlines how we are to do this. Doing righteous deeds or giving alms so that others can see how good we are is not the way we are to live our lives as Christians. We need to do these things out of love of God, not for any praise that we may get. Doing righteous deeds, giving alms, and fasting are all good things. But the focus must be and should be on doing them out of love for God and love of our neighbor. We are not to do them in order for people to say how good we are. Instead, we are to do these things for the greater glory and praise of God.

St. Paul tells us in his 2^nd letter to the Corinthians that we are to be ambassadors for Christ. What Paul is referring to here is that, as Christians, we are to live in a way that reflects our faith in Jesus Christ. In all we do, whether it’s praying, fasting or works of mercy, we do it for Christ. And by doing these things for the love of God, we are helping others see that God is present in our lives. We are not doing it for our own praise, but to get closer to God in our relationship with Him, and to bring others into relationship with Christ.

Further, during these 40 days of Lent, as we strive to get closer to God by how we live, we should consider turning to God in the Sacrament of Penance. We are all sinners and fall short of how we should be in the eyes of God. Through the regular use of confession, especially during Lent, we can see how we fall short in our living out our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. It is through the sacrament of confession that we can and do receive God’s forgiveness. With His forgiveness we can become closer to God, receive the healing and forgiveness that can only come from God, and thus become better ambassadors for Christ.

As we start our journey towards Holy Week and Easter, let us, along with the psalmist, say to God, “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense."