So today was Ash Wednesday. Over the past couple of years, my interest in the ancient traditions of the church has grown considerably. I was happy last year to participate in a Saturday Night service where the ashes were imposed upon those who were willing; however, I went to a real Ash Wednesday service this year. It even happened on a Wednesday!
Imagine that.
It was neat to experience a service dedicated fully to reflection, repentance, communion, and the imposition of the ashes. While the United Methodists maintained a certain informality of the service, I was impressed by the weight given to the occasion.
We prayed an opening prayer, sang a hymn, and then read Isaiah 53:1-12. (Which is a flippin' amazing passage; the predominant OT passage that speaks of Jesus and his mission in the world. Go read it. It's okay. I'll wait for you.) Then the minister delivered a message which incorporated Matthew 6:19-21; as the ashes remind us that we are but earth, and to earth we must return, so must we be focused on things not of this world and to place our value in those things. Then we did a call-and-response reading of Psalm 51. The minister thanked God for the ashes, a reminder of our fallenness and corruptibility, and then we participated in a piece of liturgy known as The Great Thanksgiving. (Look at the words here.) After that, we approached the rail as we felt led and received communion; there was no rush to pray and move on, we were allowed to linger and pray at the front as much as we pleased. Once finished with communion, one could pause in front of the minister at the end of the rail and receive the imposition of the ashes upon their forehead or their right hand. When all had finished, we received a simple benediction.
A couple of thoughts occurred to me that I'd like to share.
The first was that the ashes were made in the sign of the cross on a person. And everyone's cross looked different; some were well-defined, while others were no more than a smudge. I caught myself wondering what my cross looked like (since I had received it on the forehead, I didn't know). As time passed though, I marveled that even though all of our crosses were different, they were all still crosses; my cross may not look like anyone else's. That's okay; it's my cross, and I am the only one to bear it. God has called us all to different paths in life, and we all will carry our crosses differently from one another; we cannot do otherwise. However, this does not change the fact that we do, and must, carry our cross. As G. K. Chesterton is fond of pointing out, the cross as a shape is a contradiction. It is constantly at odds with itself, a paradox. One may favor the circle for its consistency and its completeness instead of the stark collision of the cross. However, the circle cannot grow beyond itself; the cross stretches beyond all that can grow. The circle can only expand and include; the cross can challenge and penetrate. The circle cannot imprison the cross. The cross is an ever-present reminder of the horizontal relationship that we are to have with others and the vertical relationship that we are to have with God; and Jesus was crucified at its center so that the paradox could become reality. As followers of The Way, let us not forget to be cross-minded; let our lives be stark collisions of Heaven and Earth as we pursue Christ.
The second thing that struck me was that the words that the minister spoke as I received the cross: "Repent, and hear the Gospel." These are not the normal words spoken as one receives the imposition; however, I was not aware of this until later. I was more interested in the order of the words. Don't we hear the Gospel, and then repent? Logically, this seems to be what we must do; however, the words and their order shed a new light on the Christian faith. The Gospel does not end with repentance; indeed, repentance opens the door for one to receive, and continue receiving the Gospel. The Gospel is more than repentance; so much more. There's love, and forgiveness, and challenge, and faith, and trials, and hope, and... And the cross! I get excited just thinking about it. Repentance is but one part of the story that the Gospel weaves into and out of our lives. Let us continue to let the Gospel impact and challenge us in ways that we have not experienced before.
And now, the words that one would normally during the imposition of the ashes. Let us remember them during the next 40 days as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.
Amen.
Recommended Reading for this post: The Ball and the Cross by G. K. Chesterton
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