Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026

            No one likes to be sick.  If we are sick, we expect a remedy.  We can suffer from physical illness. We can struggle with psychological illness.  We can also have spiritual sickness.

                We are presently in the middle of flu season.  Flu season runs from October through May.  Peak activity usually happens in February.   We know the symptoms of the flu.  We have a fever. We feel run down. We can have chills. The flu also can bring digestive problems. All this is caused by some kind of virus.

                We also know what the cure is supposed to be.  We are told to rest.  We are to drink liquids.  We might have to take some kind of medicine either over the counter or a prescription.  Over several weeks we will get back to full strength. The virus is driven away by living in a healthy way and by taking medication.

                Somehow it seems appropriate that Lent happens at the peak of flu season.  At this time of year, we are depleted. The long winter has taken its toll.  The virus we battle is called sin. We deal with our personal sin.  We also grapple with how we have been hurt by others. We are tempted to despair. We might be battling with shame. What is the medicine that spiritual physicians recommend?

                Jesus was a faith healer.  He mentions the three things that can bring a cure to spiritual illness.  The first medicine is prayer.   Jesus says, in the Sermon on the Mount, which we read from today, “Go to your room, shut your door and speak to your heavenly creator in private.”  He doesn’t mean that we literally go to our bedrooms.  But what he means is that we withdraw to engage God in personal prayer.  Long, honest, private conversations with God are the first medicine we need to use for spiritual fatigue.

                Secondly, we need to fast.  When we watch how we eat it is amazing what can happen.  Most of us probably eat too much comfort food which causes us to be lethargic.  When fasting we find we are more alert. When we are more alert, we also find that we pray better because our attention span grows.

                The third thing Jesus recommends is almsgiving.  We engage in acts of charity.  Now that doesn’t mean that we just put some of our disposable income in a collection for a worthy cause. Now that is important, but we should go beyond that. Can we interact with a person who is in need?  Can we work in a food pantry?  How about if we visited one person in a nursing home?  What if we tutored a child who has a learning issue? The poor in spirit, are all around us.

                Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the remedies for our spiritual lethargy.  One temptation is to believe that spiritual health will come all at once.  Unfortunately, that isn’t how it works.  Just like with any virus, healing takes time.  Solid spiritual practices are habits.  Time is necessary for good habits to take hold in our life.  The average time for a habit to become set in our life is said to be 66 days.  If we use the forty days of Lent to engage in good spiritual habits, we will be on the way to changing our lives for the better.  Please remember Lent only begins today.  Lent doesn’t end today.

                Our parish will offer many opportunities for spiritual growth in the next six weeks.  Today you will receive a Lenten covenant when you leave the church. Take it home.  Pray over it. Make a commitment.  Try to make Lent a transformative time in your life.  Bring the covenant back this Sunday.  We will store them in a chest in our baptismal area.  When Lent is over, we will use these covenants to start the Easter fire.  May the light of that fire be a reminder that a new healthy way of living has begun in our lives because we have taken Lent seriously.