During the six weeks in Lent we will look at a number of familiar stories in the Gospel of Luke that seem to have polar opposite choices or interpretations that point to “either this, or that.” The authors of the materials challenge us to be surprised and transformed by expanding our understanding of these stories to include nuance and complexity where before we may have only seen a binary option.
In Ash Wednesday’s reflection, the conversation begins with thinking about intention and action. It asks the question “As Lent begins, how will you align your intentions with your actions?”
I wasn’t familiar with Ash Wednesday services until I worked at Mount Saint Vincent University, a university founded by the Sisters of Charity. Ash Wednesday is relatively new in the United Church of Canada in that we have begun to “officially” observe it with a worship service only in the past several decades.
The first year I was at MSVU (1997), I got many phone calls asking if there was a service. And it was mostly the Roman Catholic faculty and students that were looking. After doing some research between year 1 and year 2, and finding out that it didn’t have to be a priest that administered the ashes, I began to offer a service in Year 2, and it was one of the most well attended services I did all year.
It has been a learning curve for me over the years to understand what exactly Ash Wednesday means to me. Why do we walk around with crosses on our hands or heads, when the reading from Matthew that is often read during Ash Wednesday services says that’s the last thing we should be doing?
It says, in the 6th chapter of Matthew: “So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you: this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the admiration of others. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward... And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let others know they are fasting.”
This image above is from the Sanctified Art materials from several years ago, Full to the Brim. I was so inspired by the image at the time, and with the artists’ discussion about coming from stardust, that I purchased the rights to share it digitally this year, along with the artist’s statement. Every Ash Wednesday I remember this image, and I somehow find it comforting.
Lisle Gwynn Garrity, the artist, writes: “Many of us begin Lent with ashen marks smudged against our foreheads, the oil glistening on our skin throughout the rest of the day. Itʼs a mark that is holy because it tells the truth: we are formed from the dust, and to dust we shall one day return. We are not immortal. Death will one day find us all. …
… But the cross on my forehead only tells me part of the story. The empty tomb tells me a fuller, more expansive truth: death will not have the last word. There is more. God is more.
This expansive truth requires more of us. It invites us to abandon empty or showy practices of faith, and instead, draw inward to open ourselves to a deeper journey of transformation. It requires me to believe that I am truly worthy of love, belonging, and grace. It requires me to believe others are also.
… What if, instead of ashes, gold gleamed on our foreheads? What if, alongside the certainty of death, we are also reminded of Godʼs expansive grace? What if on this day we said to one another, ‘From stardust you have come, and to stardust you shall one day return.’”
How do you respond to the image? Or to the artist’s statement? What do you hope from your Lenten journey this year?
In the commentary for Ash Wednesday, Dr. Mindy McGarrah Sharp reflects on the tension between intentions and actions. Sometimes, we just don’t feel ready for whatever is to come. We haven’t prepared enough. Dr. Sharp asks “What if listening is a practice on the move, a learning as we go, a birth crowning at the gravesides of yesterday? This is the day. Lent is here. Are you ready?”
How will you align your intentions with your actions?
Want to check in about your Lenten journey, or anything that is bubbling up after Sunday worship or your mid week reading? Join the Wednesday night Faith Study (in person or on zoom) starting next Wednesday March 12 at 7 pm. Call the office to sign up, or there is a sheet on the bulletin board as you go into the sanctuary from the Clinton Street parking lot.
Or, (and!), join me for a zoom check-in coffee break on Thursday mornings at 10:30. Stay for 15 minutes or 45. I’d love to hear about how your Lenten journey is unfolding. Here’s the zoom link for Thursday mornings.
Topic: Lenten Journey Thursday Check-In
Time: Mar 6, 2025 10:30 AM Atlantic Time (Canada)
Every week on Thu, until Apr 17, 2025, 7 occurrence(s)
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
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Meeting ID: 886 1127 4887
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