The Christian church has long taught that repentance, rededication, and sacrifice are to be part of the regular make up of the Christian life. That being the case, I am not sure why so many Protestants are against Lent. After all Lent is a season of repentance, rededication, and sacrifice. Maybe it’s because we are often so hostile to the Roman Catholic Church and Lent is a big deal in the RCC. But there is actually a long tradition of various churches and denominations within Protestantism celebrating Lent. And this year, for the first time ever, you can count me in.
This wonderful season begins on Ash Wednesday, that’s today. The ashes marked on the forehead are a reminder of several things. First they are a reminder that man was made from the dust of the earth and to the dust he is going to return. That is to say this is a reminder of a mortality. It is a time to pause and reflect on the fact that one day I will have to give an account to God of how I have lived and what I have done with my time. We are all going to die and the Bible calls us to regularly reflect on this reality. Psalm 103:15-16 says, ” As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.” In the New Testament Peter adds his voice saying, “for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls.” It is important to remember our mortality in order that we might reorient ourselves towards God’s call on my life.
Ash Wednesday also reminds us of the need to repent of our sins. Of course repentance is to be a part of the believer’s daily life. But Lent reminds us of this. It is too easy to let life simply pass us by. It is too easy to simply go through the motions. Lent calls us to pause, to reflect on the fact that ours should be a life of repentance. In the Old Testament people often dumped ashes on their head as a sign of repentance and sorrow for sin. Job does it after he has spoken improperly to God (42:3-6), Daniel did it (9:3), and the people of Nineveh did it when Jonah called them to repentance (3:6).
Ash Wednesday is a great start to this season. It start us all out with humility. We are not coming to God in celebration and with a recongition of how holy and impressive we are. Rather we come on our faes, with ashes on our head, repenting and reflecting on our mortality. Ultimately to come to God this way is a testimony of how great He is and how much we need Him.
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 