Pastor's Corner

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent, and believe the gospel.” - The United Methodist Book of Worship, p. 323

Each time we receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday, these, or similar, words are spoken to us. The origin of this service are ancient. In the Hebrew Bible (what we call the Old Testament), ashes marked both penitence and grief. In some places, it is noted that a person put on sackcloth and ashes. By the time of the early Christian church, this practice had continued, and was used to mark the beginning of the period of Lent. The ashes were a visible sign of one’s intent to truly repent.

While ashes often are “bought,” the intent historically has been to create the ashes by burning the palm from branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday service. While some churches still follow this practice, others obtain the ashes from less traditional sources. I recall one year that as we prepared for the service, we realized that we had not obtained enough ashes. One of our church members called her husband asking him to bring ashes. Joe did bring them, as he got them from his barbecue pit. Some remarked that evening that they liked the ashes that had a “barbecue smell!”

Historically, ashes were sprinkled on a person’s head or were liberally applied to one’s clothing (the sackcloth). By the time of the second Christian century, more and more persons were marked in ashes with a sign of the cross on their foreheads. That is the practice we still use today. Throughout the day, it can be seen those that have received the ashes early and have chosen to leave them upon their foreheads throughout that day. At one church, we had a short service at 7 a.m. for the teachers and staff in our Weekday School. Throughout the day, others would come to my office to receive the ashes.

For me, Ash Wednesday marks the rhythm of the Christian liturgical calendar. As we prepare to begin this most solemn season of Lent, we may be reminded that we’ve just left the season of Epiphany. The last Sunday of this season is Transfiguration Sunday, the day when the story of Jesus, Peter, and John on the mountain. Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, appear to the three. The disciples are so overcome by what they see and hear that they are left speechless. In a sense, as we enter into Lent, we, too, are left speechless as we prepare for these forty penitential days. More about that next week.

I hope you will come be a part of this solemn service this Wednesday, March 1. And, as you receive the ashes, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent, and believe the gospel.” See you as we join together to make this Lenten journey.

Grace and peace,

Mike

February 26, 2017