Ash Wednesday

Photo courtesy of http://www.princetonumc.net/

Collect for Ash Wednesday

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in me a new and contrite hearts, that worthily lamenting my sins and acknowledging my wretchedness, I may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Remember That You Are Dust and To Dust You Shall Return

My son, Malcolm was born on Ash Wednesday.  We had gone into the hospital on Tuesday, thus missing the pancake supper, and finally at 5:56 a.m. on Ash Wednesday morning, Malcolm was born.  It had been a long, difficult night with no sleep, lots of pain, and many nurses in and out of my room.  So when the event was finally over, I was so grateful to have the quiet room, with family and only a few visitors to revel in that life-changing moment.  That day, I was aware that it was Ash Wednesday, but it was only in the back of my mind as everything had changed and there were more immediate concerns like feeding, changing, caring for and loving this amazing new creature that I was holding.

Late that night, probably around 9 p.m., my rector came to visit.  Now, Ed is a man who has an amazing presence about him.  He over six feet tall and when he enters a room, he is accompanied by energy, passion and a sense of excitement.  That night was not any different.  He came in, swept up Malcolm, and began ogling over him and lovin on him.  It was a great moment.  Then, he looked up at me and the others in the room and asked if we would like to pray and offered a prayer of love and gratitude for the birth and for health.  After he was done, he looked up and said, “I can’t believe that I forgot to bring ashes with me!  I was going to bring them to all of you, and totally forgot.”  He went on to say that on his way in, the nurses and staff were stopping him saying, “Father, did you bring ashes for us?”  He was so flustered that he had forgotten them, that he began taking ashes off his own forehead and giving them to others.  Sharing his ashes, sharing the message of Ash Wednesday, “remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” 

As I enter into Ash Wednesday, that picture always plays in my mind… my rector sharing prayers for a new birth as well as sharing a vivid reminder of our mortality, of our humanness.  This simple ritual of smearing ashes on our foreheads is amazingly simple and clear.  This mark on our foreheads reminds us that we all are mortal, that we, like everything else on this earth, were born and will die.  This is a certainty that we share with one another.  As we have these ashes smeared on to our foreheads, we are reminded of the mystery of life – the cycles – the beginning and the end, the birth and death – we are reminded of who we are and where we come from. 

It, therefore, is very appropriate for us, as a Diocese, to come together to study God’s word, to read, reflect, and discuss what the Gospel of Matthew is saying to us and how God’s word affects our lives.  It gives us all a time to pause each day, to read scripture, to reflect and respond, and to then discuss with those around us.  It allows us the chance to take a “time out” and discover where God is moving in our lives once again. 

You could say that Ash Wednesday is a reality check for all of us.  This is the day that we all step up and look at who we are, what our relationship with God is and how we can, “Return to the LORD,” as the prophet Joel tells us to do today.  This is the beginning of the season in which we are invited to journey inward where we can encounter and confront all that which causes separation between ourselves and God.  

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent.  It is not a comfortable season, but one that calls us to acknowledge birth and death, dying to the old in order to be born into the new, giving up those things that get in the way of God.  Today marks the beginning again of God calling us back, that journey that we probably have done before and will continue to do again and again – that journey of returning, a journey in which we ground ourselves, where we come back to reality, where we remember our baptism and our call to God.  Lent is a time of restoration.  It is a season of change, a season in which we are called to empty ourselves so that we might find new life, new birth, and new health in our life with God. 

It may be just a few ashes smeared on our foreheads, but it is so much more.  This is the season to remember, to reconnect with who we are, with who we can be, with who God made us to be.  We are human beings made in the image of God.  We are made of dust and to dust we shall return. 

Almighty God, you have created me out of the dust of the earth: Grant that these ashes may be to me a sign of my mortality and penitence, that I may remember that it is only by your gracious gift that we are given everlasting life; through Jesus Christ my Savior. Amen

 

To find a church in the Diocese of Milwaukee and find their times of worship, including the services for Ash Wednesday, please go to http://www.diomil.org/about-us/congregations/congregations-by-city and contact the congregations nearest you.

Written by The Rev. Shannon Kelly

Bishop’s Assistant for Christian Formation

Diocese of Milwaukee