I am a little embarrassed! This morning at the gym I was finishing my workout (I was worn out, so that is my excuse) and I noticed a young woman working out who had something on her forehead. I couldn’t tell if it was her black hair stuck to the forehead with sweat or if maybe some residue from the dumbbells had rubbed off on hands and she touched her head. I didn’t want to stare, but I couldn’t help it. I really wanted to know what it was.
If you paid any attention to the date on the church calendar or even to the title of this article, you know exactly what it was. I should have known and that was the reason for the immediate embarrassment that swept over me. She had already been to church and gotten ashes rubbed on her forehead for Ash Wednesday. In Boston, almost everyone in the gym would have had Ashes on her forehead, but it isn’t as common here.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. In many churches, worshippers are marked on the forehead with ashes as a reminder of their mortality and as regret for past sins. “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return (Genesis 3:19). It serves as a powerful reminder of our sin as the season of Lent begins. Ashes are a powerful symbol of sorrow for sin and Ash Wednesday, therefore is an important beginning for the season. While we have not historically celebrated Ash Wednesday at GTCC, I hope you will take some time to reflect on this important day as we begin Lent.
But, why? Why is the season of Lent even important? Why do we need a season in our church that will remind us of our mortality and our sin? Can’t we just talk about how much God loves us? Aren’t we all about new life, not death? Can’t we just focus on the Good News? Those are great questions and the best way to answer that is to say yes! We are focused on God’s love! We do celebrate new life in Christ! And yes, our focus is on the Good News, but we cannot understand that news unless we recognized how far we have come AND how far we still need to come.
We are not free from sin! And we need to be reminded of that. No one wants to hear about how much of a sinner they are – that isn’t why we come to church! Yet, we need to create awareness of how we are far too often unable to fully experience new life because we have confessed sin and struggles in our life. If we do not take time to reflect on this, they just get incorporated as part of who we are. That is what we try and do during the season of Lent.
Lent is a time of fasting, of creating awareness, of reflection and repentance. It is a time where we want to acknowledge our sin and turn away from it. But Lent is all about new life! It is all about God’s love. It is about Jesus and his sacrifice for us. It is just helping us get ready for Easter. What can you do during this season to help you be aware of the presence of God in your life and, at times, your lack of awareness of it? What can you do to help cultivate the presence of God in your life?
During Lent we are going to be focusing on this in our sermon series. We are talking about learning to avoid the “spiritual junk food” that gets in the way of our being Full in the Fullness of God. We keep our minds on earthly things and we have things that have become idols in our lives! We might not worship these things, but they take enough of our time and focus that we might as well be. We hang onto the old, we give ourselves too much credit when we think we have made sacrifices or offerings to God, and we place far too much confidence, privileges and our own skills and abilities. These things all get worked into our faith life and become a block to our experience of the fullness of God. And they keep us from living the way God calls us to live.
What can you do to reflect on these things? What will help you be aware of the places that you need to turn back to God? What can help you cultivate an awareness of his presence and love? Here are some questions to think about:
- Are you going to give something up for Lent this year? (fasting, abstinence)
- Are you going to take on a new discipline to help you focus on Jesus? (focus, habits)
- Is it time for you to consider coming back to church on a more regular basis? Is there a way that you have gotten out of the healthy habits or worship and community?
- Is there something you can do as a family or with friends that can help you engage this season? We never do this alone!!
This will all help us get ready for Easter. Join me on this journey and hopefully it will be a move more toward being Full in the Fullness of God! This morning I moved from embarrassment of not knowing what was on the young woman’s forehead to a little bit of jealousy that she had the opportunity to have that moment with God. What can we do to create that kind of moment during Lent?
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