ASH WEDNESDAY

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Genesis 3:1-19

DAILY BYTE

“You are dust and to dust you will return.
Turn from your sin and return to Christ.”

These are the words that are traditionally spoken to people in the Ash Wednesday service when the sign of the cross is marked in ash on their foreheads. The words and the ashes remind us of two sobering facts that are true for every single one of us:
We are all mortal and are going to die someday.
We are all sinners in need of repentance.

If we think about it for a moment, this is radically counter-cultural, for two reasons. Firstly, the secular culture in which we all live has lost the language of mortality. Death is a taboo subject in our culture, best not talked about. Even for those clearly approaching death, either through terminal illness or old-age, it is still seldom spoken about honestly and frankly. Instead, every effort is made to ignore the fact of our mortality and to deny, for as long as possible, the approaching reality of death that comes to meet us all.

Secondly, the words and symbols of Ash Wednesday are radically counter-cultural in that we have also lost the language of sin. To speak of sin these days seems very old-fashioned and out of date, even in church!

And so to be told: “You are dust and to dust you will return. Turn from your sin and return to Christ” sounds a little strange, and maybe a bit harsh, to our modern ears.

But the gift of Ash Wednesday , and the entire season of Lent, is that it gives us the opportunity to face the truth of who we are, and recognize our deep need for God.

Facing the fact of our mortality - that one day we’re going to die - challenges our delusions of grandeur and encourages us to make the most of the lives we’re living here and now.

Facing the fact of our sinfulness - that left to ourselves we only make a mess of our lives - challenges our delusions of self-sufficiency and encourages us to allow God to do His wonderful work of forgiveness, healing and transformation within us.

Acknowledging these truths of who we really are enables us to turn to God in humility and honesty and own for ourselves our complete dependence upon God’s goodness and grace. This is exactly when God can do His most creative and exciting work in our lives that will enable us to choose the path of faithfulness that will take us on the road that leads to the cross..

Questions for reflection

1. What do you think are the reasons why the overwhelming majority of all commercial advertisements in our culture feature young, healthy, attractive, athletic-looking men and women?

2. If this were to be the very last day of your life, what regrets would you have for the things you neglected to do or failed to accomplish in this lifetime?

3. Reflect on these words of St Augustine:
‘Before God can deliver us we must undeceive ourselves.’

PRAYER

O God,
maker of every thing and judge of all that you have made,
from the dust of the earth you have formed us
and from the dust of death you would raise us up.
By the redemptive power of the cross,
create in us clean hearts
and put within us a new spirit,
that we may repent of our sins
and lead lives worthy of your calling
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen