Ashes on Wednesday

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return
to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
-Genesis 3:19

Tomorrow, February 22, we hold our Ash Wednesday worship service at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Sanctuary.  Part of the experience in worship on this special day is the imposition of ashes.  When a pastor places ashes in the shape of a cross on your forehead (or hand) she says, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return, in the love and grace of God.”  This phrase comes directly from Genesis 3.  When Adam and Eve were disobedient to God’s command not to eat of the fruit of good and evil, the punishment they received included the toil of growing food for survival.  God reminded Adam, “for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

All of us, one day, will die and return to dust.  The blessing of Ash Wednesday can feel a bit morbid – a reminder that we will die.  But it is also a challenge and a hope that while we still have breath we may live in the assurance that we are loved, we are forgiven, we are God’s.  How will we choose to live the brief moments and days we are given?  How will we invest in the lives of other people?  How will we seek to follow God’s call faithfully to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God?

O God, we seek you often with timid hearts, knowing that Lent begins our journey into the darkness and toward the cross. Help us to welcome your guidance on this path and to remember that we cannot travel it alone. Keep our walk straight and true with the strength and courage of your Spirit.  As our focus turns towards your sacrifice for us, may we too make sacrifices for others in ways that show your love for the world, as demonstrated in the death and resurrection of your Son.  Forgive us for the things we have done and the things we have left undone to love and call us to serve your people.  Amen.