Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, a forty-day journey (not counting Sundays) that leads us toward the cross and the empty tomb. On this day, we receive ashes in the shape of a cross and hear the sobering words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The ashes are not meant to shame us but to ground us – reminding us of our mortality, our need for grace, and our utter dependence on God.
Lent is a season of repentance and renewal. To repent simply means to turn – to turn away from sin and self-sufficiency and to turn back toward God. Through traditional practices like prayer, fasting, generosity, and self-examination, we make space for the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and reshape our desires. This is not a season of gloomy obligation, but of honest reflection and hopeful transformation.
Ultimately, penitence is about love. We confess not because God delights in our guilt, but because God longs to restore us. As we walk through Lent, we do so trusting that the One who calls us to repentance is also the One who meets us with mercy. The ashes trace a cross on our foreheads – a visible sign that even in our frailty, we belong to Christ.
Tonight at 7:00 pm, we will join our friends at the North Street Community Church of the Nazarene (Hingham, MA) for a service of reflection and worship.
Merciful God,
You formed us from the dust, and You breathe Your life into us still.
Search our hearts and reveal what keeps us from You.
Give us courage to repent, grace to change, and faith to trust Your mercy.
As we begin this Lenten journey, draw us closer to the cross –
and prepare us for the joy of resurrection.
Amen.
