Reading With the People of God - #1Sample

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day in the season of Lent which leads up to Easter Sunday. Lent is a special season of reflection, fasting, and repentance. Ash Wednesday, specifically, is a day to remember that you will die. The ash in “Ash Wednesday” is based on a common way of mourning during the biblical era (for example see Jeremiah 6:26). It is also a visceral reminder of the fact that we are dust, and to dust we shall return (Genesis 3:19). This reality is a part of the curse of the fall, the curse caused by sin.

What a strange and depressing thing to do! Why should we take a day to think about our death?

Theologian Esau McCaulley has put it this way:

“Life with God contains the good, the true, and the beautiful. God’s call to repentance is a call to give up those things that can only bring death. Ash Wednesday calls us to remember death, and by calling us to remember death it calls us to remember what causes death: sin and rebellion. By forcing us to remember our sin, it helps us realize that, at bottom, our sins are lies about the true source of joy.” (Lent, p. 17)

As you begin this season of Lent, reflect on your death and your sin. Consider fasting from something during this season, and remember that the true source of our joy, as Christians, is the one who conquered death. It is he who will welcome us into eternal life, to him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Today’s Prayer of Illumination:

Living God, help me to hear your holy Word that I may truly understand; that, understanding, I may believe, and, believing, I may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and glory in all that I do; through Christ my only hope. Amen.