Many refer to today as "Ash Wednesday." In my family and church it is simply Wednesday, February 17, 2010. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent--the forty-six days (Actually, those who observe Lent consider it forty days. The Sundays are reckoned separately.) leading up to Easter.* It is a time when those who observe it as a special time, focus on such things as prayer, fasting, self-denial, and confession. Participation in Lent tends to be greater among those branches of Christendom that emphasize ritual, and symbolism.
As is so often the case, there is a tendency for us to gravitate to one extreme or the other. Let me begin with the extreme to which my kind of Christian heritage is most prone. I pastor a church that has "Bible" as its middle name. If it weren't for the fact that the Bible condemns pride, I would say that we are very proud of being Biblical. The fact is--in precisely the way Bible condemns pride--I am too often proud of being more Biblical than others who have made ritual invented since the close of the cannon of scripture an important part of their faith. I need to remind myself that much of what I do as a pastor, and what we do as a church can not be directly found in scripture, yet I regard them as important aspects of my Christian life.
I ought to at least ask myself, "Are the concepts that the observance of Lent is supposed to be commemorating worth remembering--maybe even Biblical? I have to say, at least in large part, "yes."
So, if you see me this evening, will you see ashes on my forehead? No, but I am learning to look on those who use ritual to remind themselves of spiritual reality with greater charity. I'll let you know more tomorrow, why I don't have a gray cross on my forehead, and in days to come we'll explore this a bit more. But for now,
It's STTA
(*As is true about much of the liturgical calendar, there is some disagreement as to when Lent begins. I'll be posting some articles and information about Lent on my blog, The View Through My Keyhole.
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