Ash Wednesday Reflections
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgression
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.”
Psalm 51:1-2, 10-11
Today is Ash Wednesday and during the appointed church services, the congregation repeats Psalm 51. This penitential Psalm written by David is based on the events recorded in 2 Samuel, Chapters 11–12, which recounts David’s fall from grace and subsequent repentance. For David, this involved an adulterous affair with Bathsheba, his murder of Uriah, his encounter with Nathan and his confession before The Lord. Upon recognizing his sin and brokenness, David pours himself out to God, asking for God’s forgiveness. David’s story reminds us that no matter what we have done, God is always there to listen to our confession and to forgive us of our sins.
If we are honest, we are not too different from David. We all sin and must regularly confess to God and seek His forgiveness. During the Eucharist, there is a pause before we say the confession. This is an intentional pause, allowing us to confess to God about the sin that is troubling us. No sin is too big to be forgiven. God’s is always willing and able to forgive us no matter what we’ve done.
Part of the process of confession and repentance is taking a step back to examine ourselves in light of our sinfulness. We now enter the season called Lent, a season when we remember the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Many Christians add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or taking on a new practice, in order to draw themselves nearer to God. As we begin the Lenten season, is this something that you might consider?
