got ashes?

Stuff I want to give up for Lent:

Excess zoom participation (who are we where are we going what are we doing here in this meeting yet another on zoom). Use the telephone, write a letter, or meet up outdoors.

Excess indoors time: get outside! Look up! Even if you are at your desk or on facebook or both ... the mountains surround us.

The same old clothes. Some people - even under your own roof - may be changing the scenery...

Excess following the news. Should have thought of this four years ago.

Watching British people on TV - nope. Not giving that up. Imported vintage drama/comedy relief.

Daily meditation and prayer practices, putting off thereof.

Same old takeout.

Ernest but bad restaurant takeout attempts.

Inattentive cooking. Ooh, busted!

Ashes.

Ashes?

It's not about the ashes. Not even on Ash Wednesday. It is about mortality and resurrection. It is about getting ready for the Great Vigil and Easter Day. 

So we are about preparation for Baptism or the Renewal of Baptismal Vows, as we begin to claim the Christian hope of Paradise, at the end of this trial - trial of mortality, including joys as well as sorrow.

And most of all, surrounding all, love.

***

As we gather for the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday we seek some sign of mortality and penitence, some sign of preparation, for the culmination of all this forty days and forty nights is not sorrow but joy, not death but rising again.

And so today whether you receive ashes on your forehead or only wear them inside, your heart turns anew to God.

Receive, then, the gift of mortality, and the hope of resurrection, that is built into it from the beginning by our Maker.

If you self-administer ashes, please do so during the prayer following the invitation to the observance of a holy Lent. Do it slowly and respectfully - of the sacrament and the others who join you in this solemn moment - as we pray together. 

Make the sign of the Cross, or pinch some dry ashes out of a bowl. And remember - it is not about the ashes. Not even today. It is about the Cross and Resurrection. It is about Jesus, and the work he is doing in you, through the Spirit.

Have a blessed Lent. Give something up, take something on - and remember that you are loved in the mercy of God.

_____________

Dennis Michno writes: The act of receiving ashes must not become the focal point of this day but rather a sign of the day, a sign that is part of the penitential beginning of the season of Lent.

Dennis G. Michno, A Priest's Handbook: The Ceremonies of the Church, ed. 3, 1998. 154.

Howard Galley writes: Lent, the season of preparation for Easter, is a time of penitence, fasting, almsgiving, prayer, and study, which finds its proper climax in the celebration of Holy Baptism and the renewal of Baptismal Vows at Easter.

Howard E. Galley, Ceremonies of the Eucharist: A guide to Celebration. 1989. 42.

* * *

Ash Wednesday: an invitation.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have

made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and

make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily

lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,

may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission

and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives

and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever

and ever. Amen.

Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great

devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and

it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a

season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided

a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy

Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of

notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful

were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to

the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation

was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set

forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all

Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the

observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance;

by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and

meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning

of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now

kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.

The Book of Common Prayer, 1979. 264-265.