February 10th is Ash
Wednesday, a special day celebrated in many Christian
churches. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the beginning of the 40
weekdays before Easter. Lent is observed in many Christian churches as a period
of prayer, fasting, confession, repentance, and self-denial. It echoes the 40
days in the wilderness Jesus spent fasting and overcoming temptation. It also
assists Christians in focusing on Jesus resolute journey leading to his
crucifixion and resurrection. We learn to identify with his unwavering
obedience. We recognize the price he paid for us.
Our
faith journey, described in Changing Churches, began in a United Methodist Church
- a church that observes Ash Wednesday. Throughout our
years there, Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of a solemn and holy time of
reflection. While searching for a church in 2008 we attended an Ash Wednesday
service at another Methodist Church. I noted in my journal:
We sang six verses of
"Just as I Am" and "There is a Fountain Filled
with Blood." The hymns, responsive readings, confession, and
pastor's message, touched and filled us. We received ashes in the shape of
the cross on our foreheads and took Communion - opening and recommitting ourselves
to Him. What a sacred event!
Prayer
Journaling
In 2004
the teacher of my ladies Bible class mentioned journaling Psalm 51 (about David's sin), one
phrase at a time, for the forty days of Lent. This proved to be a sobering but
valuable exercise. In order to build up the church, Christians must change and
grow. We must face our own sin and repent. The next forty days are a good time
to focus on this in prayer.
Understanding
the Church Calendar
For
those not in a liturgical church, Mark Galli's
explanation from his book Beyond
Smells and Bells, may help you appreciate the emphasis on
the church calendar. He writes:
The church calendar aims at
nothing less than to change the way we experience time and perceive
reality. . . . Advent signals the new year. For the church, the annual
rhythm is not winter, spring, summer and fall, but Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. . . . The church calendar is not
about the cycle of life - school or sports or harvest time - but about the
movement of history toward a glorious goal. We celebrate the past events of
history not merely to remember them, but note how they infuse the present
with meaning and power, and point us to our future hope.
Let
this be a Holy season for all Christians to ponder and pray and deepen our
faith.
Dottie, thanks for visiting my blog today which gives me a chance to visit yours. Thank you for sharing about Ash Wednesday..you bring back the fonder memories of my pious childhood in the Catholic Church. I love the idea of the calendar not being about dates or months or Fall or Wnter, but about seasons of meeting God, change, hope, new life. I love the idea of reading the Psalm for reflecting on our how we fall short. I have a hard time with the word sin from too much guilt from my Catholic girlhood, but I really understand it's meaning and the need to repent. Beautiful wisdom here in your writing! Bless you!
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