The Scriptures for Ash Wednesday are the same in each of the
three years of the lectionary cycle. We
hear the solemn call to repentance from Joel, urging us to “rend our hearts and
not our garments” (Joel 2:13). Psalm 51,
a penitential prayer, calls upon God to cleanse and renew the wayward. The Epistle declares the God is reconciling
sinners through Christ, who offers righteousness rather than retribution (2
Corinthians 5:21). Finally, the Gospel
reading urges humility in spiritual practices, especially when we fast, pray,
and give alms (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21).
Each of
these texts calls us to recognize how inescapable is our accountability to God
and how prone we are to neglect that reality.
Receiving the imposition of ashes reminds us of our temporality and our
need of the breath of God, the Spirit, to sustain our lives.
A revered
theology professor, Dr. William Hendricks, used to greet his class with these
words: “Frail children of dust.” It was
a bracing message for students in their early twenties, at the height of
physical strength and intellectual promise.
For those who let the words find resonance in their spirits, it was a
perceptive reminder of their true estate.
Lent is a
journey through the wilderness of our lives that makes possible “coming to
ourselves,” an echo of the experience of the Prodigal. We wrestle with our temptations, acknowledge
those overweening desires that seduce us, and feel the deep hunger of our spiritual
poverty.
We seek to
put off practices that prevent human flourishing and put on those that nurture
faith and hope. Confession, repentance,
fasting, and alms giving to the poor prepare us to living more fully before the
presence of God, to whom all hearts are open.
In her
reflection on this holy season, The
Rising, Wendy Wright urges stark measures: “Let go of the old ways that
lead to such pain. Start over. Fast.
Empty yourselves to be filled with something new.”
On Ash
Wednesday, I will be flying to Myanmar once again (with ashes on my brow), just
ahead of our students and other faculty members. I will be conferring Doctor of Ministry
degrees on ten of the first cohort of students shared by Central and Myanmar
Institute of Theology on March 9th.
In that dusty land of burden and blessing, I will recognize human
frailty and our groaning need of gracious redemption.
Molly T.
Marshall
Central prepares women and men for seeking God, shaping
church, and serving humanity.
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