Dear Jesus, Last Wednesday it began – another Lenten season. This year again, we will watch from a distance as the events of the Passion unfold during the next six weeks. Help us to realize the tremendous sacrifice You made when You came here to be our Savior. You were mocked, whipped, beaten, tortured, and crucified on a cross for no other reason than because You loved us and didn’t want us to suffer a similar fate. We thank You, and we love You for loving us with such amazing love. Amen.
Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. Do you know what the day before Ash Wednesday is called? It is known as Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras – the biggest party of the year in New Orleans! It actually has lots of names: Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, and Shrove Tuesday. All these names pretty much point to the same thing – one final fling before the stringent self-denial of Lent.
Mardi Gras is a French word that means Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is the last day of Carnivale, which began on Epiphany back on January 6! Carnivale literally means “a farewell to meat,” again pointing to the self-denial of Lent. It is the final feasting before the fasting of Lent!
Today many people use the season of Lent to give up bad habits. You hear people say: ‘I gave up drinking for Lent’ or ‘I gave up smoking for Lent.’ Then, of course, there are those folks who make especially great sacrifices who say: ‘I gave up broccoli for Lent,’ or ‘I gave up Brussels sprouts for Lent.’ Some people actually do give up eating for Lent and use the days of Lent to diet and get in shape. In fact, the German word for Lent is “die Fasten” -- “the fast.” People often give up food for Lent – meat in particular. Tradition has it that people don’t eat meat or flesh on Fridays during Lent to remind them that Jesus gave His flesh on Good Friday as payment for our sins. That’s why you’ll see Friday Night Fish Fries at many restaurants, especially in the Midwest.
Lent is the season of self-denial. Tradition has it that people practice self-denial to replicate the sacrifice that Jesus made during his 40 days in the desert. The Lenten season continues for 40 days leading up to earth’s greatest of days: Easter. Those 40 days represent not only the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert but also the 40 years that Israel spent wandering in the wilderness before they entered the Promised Land. It is interesting to note that Lent is not exactly 40 days long because Sundays are not counted. Sundays are always celebrations of the Resurrection and are not included in the Lenten season. So there are actually 46 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
Ash Wednesday focuses on the greatest act of love ever seen on this planet as John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season, which is a season of remembrance, reflection, repentance, and renewal.
Lent is a somber season of remembering the sufferings and sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. As we remember what Jesus did for us, we reflect on the fact that it was our sin that caused Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. Reflecting on our sinfulness leads to humble repentance, which includes a sincere sorrow over our sin and trust that Jesus forgives our sin. When we have repented of our sins and looked to Jesus for forgiveness, He responds with full and free forgiveness and spiritual renewal in our lives and hearts.
Ash Wednesday has been a day of repentance since ancient times. The imposition of ashes on the outside symbolizes repentance on the inside. The first recorded occurrence of the imposition of ashes was by Job. After he has been rebuked by God, Job confesses: "Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Jesus points to the practice in Matthew 11:21: "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."
At Crean Lutheran High School, we carry on the tradition of the imposition of ashes at our Ash Wednesday Chapel. At each station, the worship leader applies ashes to the forehead or the back of the hand of the worshipper in the shape of a cross, saying: “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.” Those are the words that God spoke to Adam and Eve after they had eaten the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and fallen into sin. “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.” Those words remind us of our sinfulness and mortality. The ashes remind us of our need to repent and confess our sins to God. They are a sign of public repentance and a reminder of our mortality. The shape of the cross reminds us of the Good News that through Christ crucified, there is forgiveness for all sins and all guilt. The shape of the ashes calls to mind the very instrument by which Jesus took upon Himself the punishment for our sin as our Substitute. The cross of ashes serves to remind us not only that we are sinners but that Christ died for us sinners. So in receiving the ashes in the shape of the cross, we remember not only who we are but also whose we are. We are also reminded that neither sin nor death has the final word. Beyond the cross is the crown. We have the sure confidence that Christ has conquered death.
Receiving the ashes is an admission of our mortality, a profession of our repentance, a confession of our faith, and an expression of our desire to share Jesus with others. We wear that cross of ashes as a silent witness that we have been marked as one redeemed by Christ. We may also wear that cross as a way to share that cross, reaching out to those who do not yet know Jesus and what He has done for us.
Throughout Lent, we follow Jesus in spirit along the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrows, on His death march to Calvary’s cross. It is a sobering reminder of everything Jesus went through to work out our salvation. Finally, we couldn’t even begin to appreciate the brilliant rising of the Son on Easter without walking through the gloomy shadows of Lent and the deep darkness of Good Friday, where with tears we see the sad setting of the Son.
Saints, use these next six weeks to reconnect with Jesus if you have gotten a little distant. Use it as a time to reflect and meditate on God's lavish love for you and the exorbitant price He paid for you to belong to His family. Use Lent as a time to Watch and Pray. When you do that, just imagine how glorious your Easter celebration will be! Amen
Dear Jesus, Bless our Lenten journey this year. Move us to walk with you along the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrows, the path that leads to Jerusalem and, ultimately, the cross. Help us to watch and pray as we once again view the events that led up to earth’s darkest of days and ultimately to this planet’s most glorious Day on Easter Sunday. May we meditate and reflect on Your great love and mercy, which brought You to this sin-infested planet to save us from ourselves and from our sin. We love You, Jesus. We thank You, Jesus. Amen.
