Ash to Ash
Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not.
- Martin Luther
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
- John 1:29 (ESV)
The ashes worn today may make you self-conscious. We often don’t like to identify with something larger than ourselves anymore. We especially don’t like to publicly acknowledge our state as a sinner. Yet that is how we begin the Lenten season. The ashes we wear remind us of our sin. It reminds us that sin brought forth death. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. The ashes remind us of our need to be clean. Today, carry the ashes humbly, and as the water washes them off later, be reminded of your baptismal waters that made you clean again. The ashes you wear speak not of your own spirituality, but of the faithfulness of the One who sent both Son and Spirit. It speaks of your redemption though the blood and through the waters of baptism. In a world that separates, isolates, and leaves ashes in its wake; we take up those ashes, knowing that God gathers, unites and restores.
Have a blessed Ash Wednesday.
Pastor Dan.