Last evening a congregation of ten sat in the sanctuary. Ten people came to include worship on their Ash Wednesday. Ten people came forward to be marked with the ashes of last year’s palm branches. Ten people took the piece of bread and dipped it into the chalice of juice. Ten people sat quietly and confessed their sins as the season of Lent began.
The Ash Wednesday service is my favourite service of the year. It is quiet and reflective. It has ritual and symbolism. It connects me to my faith in a very tangible way. It addresses the messy business of sin, confession and the wonderful grace of forgiveness and starting again.
In her wonderful book of poetry, Kneeling in Jerusalem Ann Weems has a poem called, simply, Lent. It begins with these words,
Lent is a time to take the time
to let the power of our faith story take hold of us,
a time to let the events
get up and walk around in us,
a time to intensify
our living unto Christ, …
How beautiful it is to know we have forty days to take the time for the story to take hold of us. Blessings on your Lenten journey.
