The pastor commenced praying with the words “Oh Lord, without you we are but dust.” As he paused for a dramatic effect, a small child’s voice was heard to say, “Mommy, what is butt dust?”
What is Ash Wednesday & Lent?
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. The date is set by counting back forty days from Easter (excluding Sundays), which takes us to Wednesday, seven weeks before Easter. Why forty days? Each day symbolizes one of the forty days when Jesus fasted in the wilderness, before Satan tempted him.
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. (Mark 1:12-13)
Ashes are a reminder, in Scripture, of our mortality and frailty resulting from the curse of the Fall. …“Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes…” (Genesis 18:27)
The Bible also uses ashes as a sign of sorrow or repentance. Job said, 3…“Surely I spoke of things I did not understand…6Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:3,6)
We must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)
We are to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. (Matthew 3:2)
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
We are to repent and be baptized, all of us, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. And we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
If we repent, and turn to God, so that our sins may be wiped out; times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19)
Lent beginning with Ash Wednesday is period of repentance, humility and dependence on God that leads into Holy Week beginning April 13 (Schedule below).
Wednesday, March 5: Ash Wednesday service @ 7 pm
Sunday, April 13: Palm Sunday
Friday, April 18: Good Friday service @ 7 pm
Sunday, April 20: Easter
Blessings, Pastor Michael
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Transfiguration Sunday, March 2, 2025
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Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025
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World Day of Prayer, March 7, 2025
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Daylight saving time begins, March 9, 2025
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First day of spring, March 20, 2025
The Lenten Desert
During the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday (March 5 this year), Christians figuratively follow Jesus into the desert. Just as our Savior spent 40 days fasting and facing temptation, we focus on self-reflection and contrition.
In an 1873 hymn, Claudia Hernaman wrote, “O Lord, throughout these forty days, you prayed and kept the fast. Inspire repentance for our sin, and free us from our past.”
The desert experience of Lent serves a clear purpose, filling us up rather than depleting us. “This is what Lent is meant to be,” writes theologian Ron Rolheiser. “Time in the desert to courageously face the chaos and the demons within us and to let God do battle with them through us. The result is that we are purified, made ready, so the intoxicating joy of Easter might then bind us more closely to God and each other.”
Resting in Jesus
An old hymn declares:
I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto me and rest.
Lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn and sad.
I found in him a resting-place, and he has made me glad. (Horatius Bonar, 1846)
Many people these days feel exhausted by division, the news, hatred that seems louder than love. More than ever, we who are “weary, worn, and sad” need to hear Jesus say, “Come unto me and rest.”
Jesus wants to be our resting place — but not so we can hide forever from reality. Instead, he offers a place of refreshment where we can relax long enough to remember that not everything is bad; there is gospel to share. Not everything is hatred; God’s love is stronger.
Resting in Jesus, we focus on God’s goodness. We are reminded of love shown by kind people to those in trouble, bold voices speaking for justice, warm friendships that brighten our days. Gladdened by rest, we rise again. Jesus walks with us, as always. We can lean on him every step of the way. —Heidi Hyland Mann
On the Path to Victory
After moving to a college town, Pastor Kendra Thompson learned about the athletic phenomenon known as March Madness. And after a nondenominational upbringing, as a young adult she learned about Lenten traditions.
Lent and the NCAA college basketball tournament, which usually coincide, both point to the divine, Thompson argues. “In Lent, with each day we are drawn closer to the crushing reality that we’ve crucified our God. And yet we are also faced with an impossible victory: that death did not win, that our God is raised in Jesus Christ,” she writes. “Likewise, watching college basketball invites us into a season of hoping in unlikely possibilities, marveling at upsets, and giving thanks to God for the connection we find as his people.”
Like fans swept up in high-stakes games, Jesus’ disciples abandon everything to follow him. Lent might be “holy madness,” Thompson muses. It’s “an opportunity to ‘feel’ our religion, not just in our heads but with our skin, our voices, even in the anxieties of our prayers.”
Fasting and Feasting
During Lent, consider this practical — and biblical — advice from Arthur Lichtenberger, a former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church:
- Fast from criticism, and feast on praise.
- Fast from self-pity, and feast on joy.
- Fast from ill-temper, and feast on peace.
- Fast from resentment, and feast on contentment.
- Fast from jealousy, and feast on love.
- Fast from pride, and feast on humility.
- Fast from selfishness, and feast on service.
- Fast from fear, and feast on faith.
As we continue through Lent — which means “spring” — prepare our heart-soil, dear Jesus, to sprout with new life and blossom in faith. Amen.
