If you’re wondering how to greet someone on this combination of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday, simply say, “Happy Valentine’s Day; you’re going to die.”
One of the great dystopian novels is Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The opening paragraphs set the scene.
“It was a pleasure to burn.
“It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmet numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next… Montag grinned the fierce grin of all men singed and driven back by flame.” (p.1 & 2)
We later learn that 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the ignition point of paper—the temperature it begins to burn—and Montag likes to burn books. I won’t spoil the story. Besides, my focus today isn’t on the burning; it is on the result. These last few weeks, as I was thinking on today, I kept returning to the ashes and that one line: “It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.”
You may have noticed a few things have changed as you walked into the church today. The mood is more somber, the colors have changed, candles are missing, there are no flowers, and the crosses are covered. It is as though a fire came through and ate these things. The ash already swept away, leaving only the bones, the basics. For our souls and bodies, Lent is to be the same.
Bishop N.T. Wright says, “Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault-finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store.” Lent is a time of being cleaned out of all the extraneous in our lives that separates us from God and doing so with the right spirit—the right attitude. What does that mean? From Fahrenheit 451, Montag says, “It was a pleasure to burn,” we say, “Oh, woe is me… I have to give up chocolate.”
During these days of Lent, we see those things that we abstain from as burdens and trials, but what if, like Montag, we say, “It is a pleasure to burn. It is a pleasure to rid these things of my life so that I will have more to give to God.”
I’ll give up time looking at social media or watching TV and dedicate that time to looking at God—seeking Him in His Holy Temple. I’ll set aside an attitude of bitterness or anger and replace it with thanksgivings for my many blessings. I’ll seek to remove something that is unholy or harmful to my life and replace it with divine practices. I will burn these things, and not only will I burn them, but I will find joy in the burning because I know that each cleansing spiritual fire that I light removes another barrier between me and my God.
During this Season of Lent, I invite you to set fires in your soul and find pleasure in the burning. Find pleasure in drawing nearer to your God.
Candle in a Cave 