If you’re a Brené Brown fan, as I am, then you may have heard this story already. She’s a professor in Texas in Social Work, who studies shame and vulnerability and the impact of these things on relationships and leadership. She tells this story of being the keynote speaker at classy society luncheon at a fancy country club.

I’m guessing you can imagine the scene. Perfect linens, napkins, centerpieces, and all the rest being overseen by a very efficient and well put together woman. Brené arrived early to get settled and check in with the organizer about the flow of the event. There was apparently some miscommunication along the way, because this well-quaffed woman was horrified when Brené said she’d be talking about shame and vulnerability.

There is no room for getting real about life in spaces like this, right? People go looking their best to network and perform their best air kisses. So, our quaffed event organizer made it abundantly clear that in no way was Brené to speak about shame or anything else real. Her job was to keep things “light and breezy.”

Well, Ash Wednesday is about as opposite of “light and breezy” as you can get. Ash Wednesday is a day that we are asked to be serious about our own sin as well as our collective sin, which include the many systems of our world that are outrageously unjust, corrupt, and perhaps even evil. It is also a day for us to remember that everyone we know and love, including ourselves, will die. It is a day that is meant for us to get real about life.  

The temptation to keep it “light and breezy” can be strong, though. Our gospel text is pointing towards our tendency to want to appear righteous and pious without actually being transformed by God to the depths of our souls, just like the women at the fancy luncheon wanted to appear as if all was life was a breeze. The truth is we are all works in progress, but that’s OK. Deep transformation in Christ is a lifelong journey and there’s no need to pretend something else is true. On Ash Wednesday, we come to admit our limitations, our sinfulness, and the brokenness of the world. We are not here to keep it “light and breezy”, nor pretend that we are complete in our holiness somehow.

Lent is an invitation to set all that pretense to the side in order to enter into a more true, honest, and deeply shared reality with God. We have the opportunity here to acknowledge our personal sin, our collective brokenness, and our coming death. I can imagine our luncheon organizer being very uncomfortable on Ash Wednesday, let’s just say.  

And perhaps she’d be right to not love Ash Wednesday. If it weren’t for the promises of Christ, our fears and shame would be our problem alone. Through Christ, we know that the sin of the world is gathered in and redeemed. On this day, we are asked to bring every single thing that scares or shames us or overwhelms us about this world, ourselves, and each other to Christ and trust that the goodness of God is greater than the darkness we are so afraid of. Our shame, sin, and brokenness is not more powerful than the redemption of the cross.

In a few minutes, we will say together a confession, naming an array of sins and fearful realities and then you’ll receive ashes on your forehead. Following the ashes, I invite you to light a candle or two as a prayer for our personal and shared sins and fears. Let us bring all this weight in vulnerability to the cross.

Our luncheon organizer in Texas may see vulnerability and humility as signs of weakness. After all, a true champion of life can make it all appear “light and breezy” regardless of reality, she might say. However, the power of the cross is that we can be honest and be laid bare with Christ, knowing that our sins and our brokenness are held, understood, and redeemed. In Christ, we are empowered to live as God would have us live – humbly, loving, and with gratitude for all that is as we do the work of Christ, the work of love and justice, in the world.

So, if your napkins are a mess at your next luncheon, that might just be just fine. At a luncheon like that, the speaker may actually be able to talk about the realities of life and something holy and true might just take place. When we land on our knees before the cross, we go way beyond the shallow “light and breezy” layer of reality and discover God’s power, salvation, and love for us and all the world. For the sake of us all and for all the world, we pray for a vulnerable and redemptive Lent for us all.

AMEN