Ash Wednesday

The solemness of Ash Wednesday exceeds even that of Good Friday’  Good Friday is focused on redemption coming from the death and subsequent resurrection of Christ.  (This is why it is Good Friday.)  Ash Wednesday is primarily a time for each individual to confront the unpleasant reality that we  all must die.  This is why you often hear the words of the prophet Joel proclaimed on Ash Wednesday:

1   Blow a horn in Zion, Sound an alarm on My holy mount! Let all dwellers on earth tremble, For the day of the LORD has come! It is close—  2 A day of darkness and gloom, A day of densest cloud Spread like soot over the hills. A vast, enormous horde— Nothing like it has ever happened, And it shall never happen again Through the years and ages. 12 “Yet even now”—says the LORD— “Turn back to Me with all your hearts, And with fasting, weeping, and lamenting.” Joel 1.1-2, 12

Ash Wednesday grounded in the Genesis moment:  Remember, O mortal, that you are dust; and to dust you shall return. (Genesis 3.19)  It is the deliberate confrontation with the reality of sin and death that separates the church from the world.  While world seeks to avoid the reality of death at all costs, the church stands unafraid.  In facing death, believers are able to fully  and deliberately consider the meaning of both life and death. 

The the ashes placed on the forehead on Ash Wednesday, represent the reality of death.  Yet, placing the ashes on the forehead in the sign of the cross transforms this symbolic gesture.  For the cross of Calvary transforms our understanding of life and death in a way the world will never understand.  Yes, we will die.  Yes, it is unavoidable.  But we choose to die in Christ, and  His death transforms ours.  Now we live, not in fear of death, but in the joy of our walk in Christ.  For Christ has conquered death.

But if we truly live in Christ, our lives must reflect this new reality that gives hope to our existence.  As such, Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, marks an extended period of self reflection, repentance, and sacrifice.  These concepts are at the core of Lent.

Lent

Lent is understood as a period of forty days in the life of the church.  Interestingly, Lent is actually forty-six days long.  (This is because the Day of the Lord (Sunday) is not included in the count of days for Lent.  While the Lenten season is a period of fasting in the church, the Lord’s Day is always a day of feast and celebration within the church.)  You may be asking yourself, why is Lent forty days (after the exclusion of the Sundays)?  Well, the bible seems to point to forty as a number that symbolizes  periods of completion.  The number forty is connected to many examples of significant and sacred periods of history.  Rain fell for forty days and forty nights in Noah’s time.  Moses and Elijah (who represent the Law and the Prophets) both dwelt at Horeb for 40 days.  Jesus endured temptation in the wilderness for forty days and was revealed to the disciples for the same period following the resurrection.  For forty years, Israel wandered in the wilderness prior to entering the promised land.  Eli was judge over Israel for forty years and Saul, David, and Solomon are each reported to have reigned for forty years.  The early church picked up on this concept and used the forty days as the period of preparation before baptism.  It became a period of final reflection and repentance.

Lent serves two purposes:

1. •It is a time of a serious consideration of our sinfulness and its deadly consequences for both our lives, our families, and our community.
   

2. •It is a time for an equally intense consideration of the new possibilities offered to us in Jesus and how our relationship with Christ changes how we live.
   

At the beginning of the Lenten season, we are more focused on repentance.  As we drawn closer to the end of Lent (and observe Palm Sunday and Holy Week), we are more focused on the divine redemption we now live in.  We begin Lent by stressing an acknowledgment of our rebellion against God.  We move through Lent celebrating the fruits of repentance and the change in our lives brought by the gracious and loving act of God.

Observing Lent should be an intentional and sustained act performed, not out of obligation, but out of grateful devotion.  Often, the focus is on giving something up for Lent.  Sometimes we give up something trivial: giving up chocolates or going to the movies.  Sometime we give up something that feels righteous:  we might give up an hour of our day to visit the sick.  None of these are bad things to do.  However, they may fail to get to the heart of the Lenten experience.    For in giving these things up, they are often viewed as temporary.  As soon as the Lent is over, these sacrifices will be set aside for the next forty-six weeks.

To truly participate in the spirit of Lent, one should examine themselves and seek to find ways to conform more fully to the mind of Christ and His example of discipleship.  Lenten sacrifices are not simply temporary deletions or additions, but engagement in spiritual disciplines designed to permanently alter us.  To get at possible changes during Lent that might have a long term effect in your Christian walk, you might ask yourself the following questions:

1. •What can I do to make progress in sharing gladly what I have with others, particularly strangers and the poor?
   

2. •What attitudes do I convey to those who irritate me?  How can I do a better job of conveying to others the same grace God has extended to me?
   

3. •How connected am I to those with whom I worship and what can I do to better appreciate the contributions and needs of those who fellowship with me?
   

4. •Am I as charitable and thoughtful to my family as I am to others?  Or do I “take it out” on my family when life at work or school gets hectic?
   

5. •When I hear someone else being talked about, do I speak up to correct the record or am I a silent accomplice?
   

6. •What can I do to better govern the words of my mouth?  Do I spend more time complaining than in thanksgiving?  Do I build up others with my words or tear others down?
   

7. •What steps can I take to be a better steward of my time, talent, and treasures?  Am I using the gifts that God has given me for the building up of His kingdom?
   

8. •How can I become more disciplined in my Christian walk?  Will a period of fasting during Lent help me gain much needed discipline in my life?
   

9. •In addition to intercessory prayer, what habits can I develop that allow me to be more responsive to the sick, distressed, and the bereaved, particularly when their needs emerge suddenly and require immediate attention?
   

10. •Am I, by my consistent attendance at worship, a witness to others of the worthiness of the God I serve?  Or am I, by my sporadic attendance, suggesting that God is worth serving some times, but not others?
    

11. •Have I developed a hunger for knowing God that is evident in my participation in the learning ministries of the Church?  Am I engaged in Bible Study, Sunday School, and personal devotion regularly?
    

These and similar disciplines are designed to have an effect far past Lent.  The sacrifices made during Lent are intended to produce new pathways of devotion and discipline in your Christian walk.  It is in this same context that fasting can be understood.  Fasting is not simply about giving up something.  Fasting is designed to alert us to unacknowledged obsessions we have about feeding the desires in our life.  How often, and how quickly, do we allow the desires of the flesh to govern our actions?  How many times do we yield to the slightest discomfort, or cave in to the most minor inconvenience?  Fasting helps us develop the strength to crucify the flesh, and this is a necessary part of the Christian journey.

Fasting also reminds us of our dependance on God and others.  If not for God, and the labor of others,  there would be no provision of food, and no meeting of our basic physical needs. It reminds us that we are all connected, and that God is working through those we do not know to provide what we need. Hunger develops within us a great understanding of the plight faced by so many who go hunger in this land of plenty. 

So fasting and sacrifice during the Lenten season provides many opportunities for Christian growth.  Ultimately, our desire to to draw closer to the God that loves us and to live the life He has called us to.  All of our sacrifice, repentance, and fasting, has no meaning outside of our relationship and dependance on God.  Whatever we do, we do in the power of Christ and for the glory of God.

May this Lenten Season be a time of renewal and growth in your Christian Walk.  Join us as we enter into this moment in the life of our ministry.