{"id":296281,"date":"2019-03-05T09:25:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T14:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=296281"},"modified":"2019-03-05T09:25:17","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T14:25:17","slug":"each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/","title":{"rendered":"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
by Deacon Greg Kandra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd<\/sup> Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up.<\/strong> One of them is finished, and appears ready for occupants.<\/p>\n

But the other one is taking longer than expected. It is very much a construction site. Scaffolding is still up. There are signs warning you to be careful and wear a hard hat. It seems they\u2019re running a little behind: one large sign proudly proclaims the building will be completed in Fall 2016.<\/p>\n

If anyone is confused, three words on the sign sum it up:<\/p>\n

\u201cWork in Progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true of that building. It\u2019s true for each of us.<\/p>\n

If you want to know the prevailing theme of Lent, that\u2019s it:<\/p>\n

Every one of us is a work in progress.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We enter this season to undertake that work in earnest \u2014 to pray, to sacrifice, to fast, to devote ourselves to repentance and spiritual growth.<\/p>\n

Each of us becomes, in effect, a construction site.<\/p>\n

And like any construction site, after this day, we are covered in dust.<\/p>\n

The ashes we are about to receive are the signs we wear to tell the world this fundamental, humbling truth:<\/p>\n

We are a work in progress.<\/p>\n

These marks on our brows proclaim that we are tearing down, building up, reconstructing the messy interiors of our lives.<\/p>\n

They say: \u201cI am incomplete. I have work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

A teacher of mine in high school used to wear a button that sums it all up perfectly:<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease be patient. God isn\u2019t finished with me yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what these ashes say.<\/p>\n

Of course, for the next 40 days, we are more than just walking construction sites. We are also the site managers, the plumbers, the carpenters, the electricians and the interior decorators trying to complete God\u2019s work in us.<\/p>\n

Our tools aren\u2019t jackhammers, cement mixers or electrical wiring.<\/p>\n

Our tools are so much stronger than that.<\/p>\n

We use the hammer of prayer. The hard wood of fasting. The concrete act of alms-giving.<\/p>\n

We seek ways to tear down walls of selfishness, indifference, pride and pettiness.<\/p>\n

We try to build connecting hallways of compassion, mercy, generosity and faith.<\/p>\n

This is God\u2019s great human project. And it has a distinct purpose. This is his call to us, as we heard in the scripture a few moments ago:<\/p>\n

\u201cReturn to me with your whole heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The best way to do that isn\u2019t just to skip hamburgers and go without chocolate. That\u2019s the easy stuff.<\/p>\n

This Lent, try something harder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Try to be, as St. Paul put it, \u201cambassadors for Christ.\u201d Be witnesses for him to the world.<\/p>\n

Care for the weak, the outcast, the suffering, the poor.<\/p>\n

Love one another. That means everyone. The bigoted neighbor. The angry teenager. The irritable boss who gets under your skin. The acquaintance you try to avoid because he asks too much.<\/p>\n

Because, like all of us they, too, are works in progress.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, the most valuable work we \u201cworks in progress\u201d can do is, in fact, what we don\u2019t<\/em> do.<\/p>\n

So\u2026<\/p>\n

This Lent, don\u2019t<\/em> pick a fight on Facebook.<\/p>\n

This Lent, don\u2019t<\/em> miss an opportunity to say thank you.<\/p>\n

This Lent, don\u2019t<\/em> just step around that homeless guy with the cardboard sign.<\/p>\n

This Lent, don\u2019t<\/em> miss a chance to pray.<\/p>\n

This Lent, don\u2019t<\/em> act like you have all the time in the world<\/strong>. Because, as the ashes on our brows will remind us, we don\u2019t. We are covered in dust not just because we are a construction site \u2014 but because \u201cwe are dust and to dust we will return.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Lent, don\u2019t forget that.<\/p>\n

And besides all those don\u2019ts, try some \u201cdo\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Lent, do<\/em> listen to those you would rather ignore.<\/p>\n

This Lent, do<\/em> treat with respect those you disagree with, even the most strident, for the simple reason that each of us is made in the image of God.<\/p>\n

This Lent, do<\/em> ask that homeless guy if he\u2019d like a bagel and a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n

This Lent, do<\/em> put an extra dollar aside to give to a charity close to your heart.<\/p>\n

This Lent, do<\/em> give up something you love so you can give love to someone who needs it \u2014 whether it\u2019s the gift of time, or the gift of respect, or the gift of a cheap umbrella to help keep someone dry.<\/p>\n

As I say every Ash Wednesday: this season is not just about giving up, but about giving<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The purpose of it all, we need to remember, isn\u2019t just to turn these 40 days into a self-improvement project, but to prepare ourselves for the greatest feast on our calendar, Easter. We do this to align our hearts, to focus our spirits, to turn our eyes toward the cross and, beyond, the empty tomb.<\/p>\n

We do it with faith in God\u2019s mercy and a desire to be more than we are \u2014 flawed, fumbling people stumbling toward the hope of eternal life.<\/p>\n

So as we begin Lent, remember with joy, with humility and with hope, this painful but consoling fact of life:<\/p>\n

Each of us is a work in progress. And we have so far to go. And so much to do. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Time is of the essence.<\/p>\n

By the grace of God, and God willing, we have 40 days.<\/p>\n

Break out the hammer. Raise the beams. Pour the concrete.<\/p>\n

And, let\u2019s get to work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up. One of them is finished, and appears ready for occupants. But the other one is taking longer than expected. It is very much a construction site. Scaffolding is still up. There […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":296287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[114],"class_list":["post-296281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homilies","tag-ash-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\nEach of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up. One of them is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up. One of them is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-05T14:25:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/56\/2019\/03\/0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"458\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/\",\"name\":\"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-05T14:25:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-05T14:25:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\"},\"description\":\"Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up. One of them is\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\",\"name\":\"The Deacon's Bench\",\"description\":\"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\",\"name\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday","description":"Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up. One of them is","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday","og_description":"Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up. One of them is","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2019-03-05T14:25:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":458,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/56\/2019\/03\/0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Deacon Greg Kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deacon Greg Kandra","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/","name":"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-03-05T14:25:17+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-05T14:25:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970"},"description":"Last weekend, I was walking up 72nd Road, here behind the church, and passed the site where the two apartment buildings are going up. One of them is","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/each-of-us-is-a-work-in-progress-homily-for-march-6-2019-ash-wednesday\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Each of Us Is a Work in Progress: Homily for March 6, 2019, Ash Wednesday"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/","name":"The Deacon's Bench","description":"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970","name":"Deacon Greg Kandra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Deacon Greg Kandra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}