Ash Wednesday and Spring Cleaning
Lent begins on March 5, 2025. “Lent” comes from the Old English for “springtime.” Lent is like spring cleaning, or clearing out a garden, to make room for new growth. During Lent I will be posting portions of my yet to be published “Journey through Lent.” This Journey provides space for us to return and respond to God. The Lord Christ is with us, so our journey brings hope in these troubling days.
Here are some texts to consider, from the Revised Common Lectionary:
“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?…if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:6, 10, 11)”
God invites us to fast from the things that distract us and keep us from intimacy with him. God also invites us to “fast” by practicing justice and sharing with others—things such as food, money, time, or talents. Many people also choose to “take up” spiritual practices during Lent. I plan to draw or create a bit each day, because that connects me to God and brings me joy.
Many churches have a service to begin Lent with the imposition of the ashes. The minister may say,
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.” These words are based on Genesis 3:19, reminding us that God formed humans from the dust of the earth and breathed life into them. Here are some additional words of invitation:
“Respond to Christ, and be forgiven and wholly redeemed. Rejoice that you are marked with the cross as a beloved child of God. Amen.”
If you are not in a congregational setting to receive the ashes, you may anoint your own forehead. First dip your finger in olive oil, and then dip your finger in ashes or soot (as from a candle). You may also make the sign of the cross with ashes (or another writing instrument) on a piece of paper. The cross reminds us that Jesus died and was raised to life, that we may live.
Reflection Question: What thing/s is God inviting you to give up or take up during Lent, to grow closer to God and to practice justice and love?
