the beginning of Lent: Ash Wednesday

So I began this post on Wednesday, but obviously it's going up a few days after the fact.  Not to worry, though - still applicable since there are plenty of days remaining in Lent! 

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent - forty days during which Christians prepare for Holy Week, which culminates with Easter Sunday.  In many Ash Wednesday services, you have the opportunity to receive the imposition of ashes, which simply means that you are marked with ash on your forehead in the sign of the cross.  Why the ash?  Partly because of the fact that ashes were used during Old Testament times during periods of mourning, repentance, and fasting.  In most churches, when you receive the ashes, the pastor says, "From dust you came, to dust you will return," which were God's words to Adam and Eve after they had chosen to sin.  The significance of these words on Ash Wednesday is to remind us of both our sinfulness and our mortality.  Why the cross?  The ashes are placed on the forehead in the sign of the cross, however, in order that we may also be reminded that the price for our sin has been paid by Jesus.  Yes, we are sinful mortals - but (hallelujah!) we have a Savior who has redeemed us, who desires full life for us on this earth, and who will give us eternal life with Him!   

I don't know if you've thought much about Lent or not this week.  Maybe it's a very important part of each year for you.  Or maybe you've never really observed the season of Lent.  My experience has been that Easter is so much sweeter when I've been preparing for it and waiting for it during Lent.  My encouragement would be to make Lent a special time in some way.  Here are some general thoughts as we start this season:

• most often, we hear about people giving up things for Lent.  Maybe it's chocolate, alcohol, junk food, etc.  My pastor encouraged us this week to not give up something we should be giving up anyway ;)  Lent isn't intended to be a means to losing a few pounds.
• we see in the Bible a number of practices that are often called "spiritual disciplines."  These are intentional, chosen practices that are intended to create space & time to further our relationship with Jesus.  These include: prayer, fasting, solitude, meditation, study, simplicity, submission, service, celebration, confession, and others.
• There are several different ways to categorize these disciplines:
• the disciplines of engagement (taking on something new) and the disciplines of abstinence (giving up something)
• inward disciplines (just between me & God) and outward disciplines (those that involve other people)
• individual disciplines (me & God) and corporate disciplines (those that are practiced with others)
• My encouragement would be to choose one discipline to practice during Lent - one way to intentionally prepare for Easter.  An important thing to keep in mind: our actions (ie - things we do for Lent) are meaningless if our hearts aren't in the right place (read Isaiah 58:5-7 for more on this).  The disciplines aren't intended to be for show and they don't earn us favor with God.  They are meant to be a means for us to get to know Jesus better!
• If you want to learn more about the spiritual disciplines, I recommend Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
• And a final fact that I didn't know about Lent until a few years ago: Sundays as feast days!  The 40 days of Lent are filled with the weekdays & Saturdays between Ash Wednesday and Easter, with Sundays being a feast day - a day of celebration (as they should be each week of the year!) and a "day off" from the disciplines you choose to practice during Lent. 

So enjoy today as a feast day - a day of celebration!  And then let's "get our discipline on" tomorrow morning :-)