Ashes to Ashes

Today is Ash Wednesay or more traditionally known as the "Day of Ashes". Today there will literally be millions of Christians all over the world receiving the sign of the cross in ash on their foreheads. This is a sign of penance, reflection and confession. We recognize that our hope is found only in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on our behalf and our own mortality. We hear the words , "Remember that from ashes you came and to ashes you will return. May these ashes be a sign of your penance and a symbol of your mortality." To children we say, "this is the good news that you belong to Jesus now and always." Tonight as we have for the last 3 years we will have our Ash Wednesday service. We have burnt the palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday and we will mix them with olive oil and essence. We will speak a message of repentance and hope to those present and call them to receive the sign of the cross. No one is forced but all are invited. They come forward and I with my pastoral colleagues are given the privilege of marking them with the eternal and deeply significant sign of the cross. We remind them that by accepting this mark they are recognizing their deep need for God's forgiveness and making their confession to Him. I love this service. I am indebted to the church for making me aware of my need for a savior. I am also indebted to those who have preserved the church before me and whose shoulders I now stand on as I too carry on the traditions that link us. Too often we cast away the inspired liturgies that have been a part of the yearly worship of so many of the faithful for centuries because we view them as archaic or fail to truly understand the significance they have for us. We in the protestant world often cast off practices that may smack of Catholicism too much for our liking and in turn miss opportunities to join with brothers and sisters of the faith, who with us compose the One, Holy, catholic, and apostalic church, in deeply spiritual movements of grace. I sense the power of the moment when my pastoral brother marks my forehead and reminds me of my mortality and need for continual confession to and mercy from God. As I spend the next 40 days of Lent in reflection, sacrifice and preparation for Easter celebration I will look back at Ash Wednesday and remember the cross that marks my life. I am changed and transformed because of Christ and his atonement for me. I am made new by my willingness to be in relationship with God and therefore daily I choose to live in submission and sacrifice to His will for me. His good choices on my behalf demonstrate His holiness to me and remind me why I live as I do--so I might be continually formed in His holy image. This day is significant for me. I pray it is also for you. Grace and Peace.