"Weird Wednesdays"
February 11, 208
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
I hope you are all staying warm and safe as we battle yet another round of winter weather. I missed being able to see all of you at Wednesday's Family Fusion! When the forecast called for ice and more ice, we knew we had to make the difficult decision to keep you safe at home rather than venturing out.
Next Wednesday is a weird one too - it is Ash Wednesday and Valentines Day, wrapped into one. What an odd combination! A friend posted a cartoon on Facebook that offered suggestions for Ash Wednesday/Valentine's Day greeting cards. One said, "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Lent is beginning, No chocolate for you!"
So, why do we begin the season on Lent with ashes, anyway? In the Bible, people put on sackcloth and ashes to indicate one of two things - great grief or great repentance. The first instance of someone wearing ashes was by Tamar, David's daughter who grieved the shame forced on her by the attack of her half brother (2 Samuel 13). Mordecai puts on ashes when he hears of King Xerxes' proclamation that the Israelites were to be attacked (Esther 4). Job sits in the ashes when his children are killed (Job 2). The king of Nineveh surprises us all by putting on sackcloth and ashes after Jonah calls him to repentance (Jonah 3). Daniel puts on sackcloth and ashes as he prays a heart-wrenching confession before the Lord (Daniel 9). And Jesus talks about sackcloth and ashes as an act of repentance (Luke 10).
Throughout scripture we see the people of God setting aside specific seasons for prayer, repentance, and reaffirmation of their covenant with the Lord. As we prepare for the Lenten season, we invite you to join us on Ash Wednesday for dinner at 6:00 p.m. followed by a family-friendly service at 7:00 p.m. There will then be an opportunity for further reflection, at five stations set out with reminders, of the Biblical accounts and current relevance of this holy season.
What is the point of all of this? Love. Perhaps Valentine's Day is a good combination with Ash Wednesday after all. It is a time to renew and recommit to the covenant love that God offers us - the "hesed" love, the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases. May God create in us clean hearts and renew a right spirit in us, so that to He can present us "before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy!" (Jude 24).
Many blessings,
Pastor Carolyn
