Ash Wednesday

Donna
Mar 5
3 min read

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart,

with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments,

and return to the LORD, your God.

"Each one of us carries grief, sorrow that has perhaps gone unexpressed or been stifled or numbed. Each of us has been touched by pain and suffering at some time. Yet we live in a culture that tells us to move on, to get over it, or to shop or drink our way through sorrow. Or to fill our moments with the chatter of TV and radio and iPods so that we never have to face the silent desert of our hearts. It is the same kind of attitude that forces us to answer “fine” when others ask how we are and we really aren’t. Even our churches can often try to move us too quickly to a place of hope without fully experiencing the sorrow that pierces us.

Even now, in the midst of death and destruction, loss and pain, God calls to us. Not for a half-hearted acknowledgement, but to return to God with our whole heart, with the fullness of who we are." (Christine Valters Paintner)

The season of Lent calls us to bring our whole selves into each day. In these days of divisive and troubling political turmoil, with fires and floods, wars and disease, many emotions rise up in us, including sadness, fear and despair. As we walk through these weeks of Lent we are invited to a deeper experience of what it means to live wholeheartedly, even in the midst of the desert times of our life.

Ash Wednesday begins our journey through Lent. Today we can make a space to be with and express our lament - for ourselves and for our world. Together, we can pray for restoration and peace for ourselves, our loved ones and the world.

Song:: Psalm 126 (Although We Are Weeping/Restore Us O Lord) by Porter's Gate

https://youtu.be/KZMm9DdwJjk?si=q5J1PZJmRMzmAXUa

Ashes are on the news almost every night. Ashes from fires... and from bombings... The destruction is inconceivable. So many people are mourning their lost loved ones, and homes, and livelihoods. Can anything good rise from ashes?

In Isaiah 61, Isaiah proclaims:

"The Lord has anointed me

to proclaim the good news to the poor...

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair."

In her weekly Substack column, Christine Sine invites us to share with one another the beauty and hope hidden in the ashes. Together, as we follow Jesus into the wilderness, we can work to bring beauty and light into the world.

Our world is filled with ashes,

Not just on our foreheads,

But in our mouths.

The horrors of war surround us,

The calls of the innocent

Cry out for justice.

Let us find hope

Hidden in the ashes.

We can create the beauty

We wish to see in the world.

Newness does push up through the cracks.

Beauty will emerge from our grief.

Light will shine in the darkness.

Let us not ask after power but for justice.

Let us not incite war but peace.

Let us follow Jesus into the wilderness,

Beautify our gaze,

And embark together on a journey

Of renewal and transformation.

As we grieve with the world in the hurting and broken places, may we remain open to the light and beauty that yet endures, and may we share it with others as we are able. May this Lent be an opportunity for transformation and renewal.

Resources:

Christine Valters Paintner, "Ash Wednesday: Beginning the Lenten Journey," February 25, 2009, abbeyofthearts.com.