Ash Wednesday is a sacred night in many churches, a time for people to remember our mortality as we give thanks that Christ brings life through ash and dust. Then we gather in the shadows and hear from God in Isaiah, who wants nothing to do with our sacred nights of worship. Particularly if they do nothing to reveal justice for God's suffering ones. God reminds us that, as we choose to fast, many neighbors don't get to choose whether or not to eat. As we change our clothes and our liturgical paraments for the season, folks down the street from us can only wear the same old rags they keep stitched together. God doesn't want our rituals and piety, God is bringing divine justice into our broken world. And when we reach the point when we feel utterly helpless to respond to the powers and sins around us (and in us), well, that's the moment of our joy. A sermon on Ash Wednesday rooted in Isaiah 58.1-12.