Sunday, February 22, 2009

Ash Wednesday

Ashes to Ashes

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is named for its primary symbol. Using ashes as a symbol of penitence is a custom which goes back over a thousand years and has its basis in Hebrew Scriptures. While we share in a very ancient ceremony, ashes have real meaning in our modern day world. What images emerge for you as you think of ashes? Perhaps it is the image of the World Trade Centre in the aftermath of the terrorist attack as Manhattan was blanketed with dust. Perhaps it is the devastation caused by the war in Afghanistan. Perhaps you see in your mind’s eye a picture of a child lying in a hospital bed, limbs blown apart by a bomb. Perhaps it is the image of our city blanketed in smog, the result of our careless stewardship of the earth’s resources.

Whatever the image, it is a symbol of death. Ashes remind us of the fragility of life, of how tenuous our lives really are. We may think back to the funeral of a loved one. “Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” we say at the committal as we toss the first handful of earth onto the casket. It is a stark reminder that we are committing the person who has died into God’s care. As we hear the words today as that smudge of ash is placed on our forehead, we are reminded that God created us from the dust of the earth and in death we return to that dust. And so today we are called to wear a symbol of our mortality right on our faces in plain view.

Given the world in which we live, given the ashen weight of the world’s pain and terror, ashes may be the last symbol we want to embrace. Why do we do this? Why do we begin our Lenten journey in this way?

Lent is a season of penitence. As the prophet Joel called the people of Israel to repentance, so we are called to repentance. They faced the devastation of a locust plague. They felt totally helpless. They saw only death and destruction around them. Joel called them to acknowledge that despite all appearances to the contrary, God was in control. He called on them to show God in some tangible way that they trusted in God’s promises, that they trusted that in the midst of death and devastation God would be with them. The people showed their faith by fasting and mourning. They rose above the ashes of their lives. The ashes of their fasting and mourning became a symbol of hope.

So it should be for us. That smudge of ash on our forehead is a symbol, not only of death and destruction. It is also a symbol of hope. Ash Wednesday offers us the grace to examine our lives with a sense of honesty. It challenges us to admit to our own sinfulness. How have we been complicit in the devastation around us? How has our sinfulness contributed to the brokenness of the world? More importantly, what are we going to do about it?

Lent is an opportunity to admit to ourselves that something is wrong with us, individually and collectively. On our own we will never fix everything. But as a community we can get down on our knees in prayer. We can resolve to begin anew. We can resolve to ask God’s forgiveness for our complicity in the state of the world. We can ask God’s grace in moving ahead, in accepting forgiveness. We can remind ourselves throughout these forty days through prayer, fasting, and study that we are determined to make things right.

Lent means springtime. The hope of Lent is that spring is coming. How do we bring hope to this day? A little Koala bear, affectionately named Sam, rather bewildered and quite badly burned emerged from the ashes of the bushfire in Australia. He became a beacon of hope in the midst of the devastation. A volunteer firefighter came across Sam cowering in a burned out section of the forest. He approached the terrified animal, offering it a drink of water. He talked gently to the animal until it trusted him enough to put a paw on his hand and begin to drink from his plastic bottle. The animal was taken into care and its burns treated. Another picture emerged. That of Sam recovering from his burns lying in a cage, another koala with a protective arm around him.

That is a good image for us of this season that begins with the ashes of Ash Wednesday, takes us to the devastation of the cross, and then to the glory of the Resurrection. Thanks be to God.

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