Sermon - Ash Wednesday | Pastor Jisun Yang | 2-18-26
- Middletown UMC Meadowlark
- Feb 24
- 1 min read
Returning To The Heart - Lent As A Journey Inward
Pastor Jisun reflects on the power of positive reinforcement: encouraging certain behavior with a reward. Positive reinforcement can build up and be powerful, but it can also magnify unhealthy behavior. If we only praise people on stage, we might unintentionally teach that being seen matters more than working behind the scenes. If we clap only for a big achievement, especially for children, we may overlook the time and effort that went into the process. Appreciation from others becomes the main motivation. In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches us to examine our hearts and motivations when we give, pray and fast. These are good, important and essential practices of faith; however, they can become unhealthy religious practices if they are tied to the wrong rewards such as being honored by others. Jesus called such people hypocrites. Those who pray and give in public receive their reward on earth. Those who practice these things in secret get their reward in heaven.
Ash Wednesday begins a new season of Lent and invites us to examine our motivations and renew our relationship with God: reading scripture, quiet moments of prayer, meditating on Jesus' journey to the cross, learning humility,
growing in faith, giving up something we love for Lent. The heart of it is making time for God - be creative in finding time that works for you.