How Do We Find Beauty in the Ashes?
Good Morning Friends,
The Bible does not mention the custom of Lent, however, the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is found in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21. Lent occurs during the 40 days (not counting Sundays) just before Easter. As we begin the journey of Lent it is a good time to get in touch with the Holy Spirit, for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is salvation, security, growth and service. From the ashes of the palm crosses we are marked in the cycle of birth, life, death and resurrection. In the reality of our need of repentance…in the reality of our freedom, in the Spirit we draw closer to God to discover a comfortable sense of uncertainty as we realize we do not have answers but still seek. So today we ask, How Do We
Find Beauty in the Ashes?
Scripture:
19By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’
Genesis 3:19 (NRSV)
When you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in [Christ, you] were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13 (NRSV)
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:9-11 (NRSV)
Message: As I am writing this reflection, my mother is in her last hours of this earthly life.
And the messy smudge in the shape of a cross that later today will be on so many people’s foreheads reminds me even now of just how fragile our lives are in this fragile world. It is a season that reminds us of the desire to return home… return to the source of abundant life. There is more for the Lenten season proclaims the reason for this living hope. In a sober consideration of our mortality, we face temptations along with Christ that would detour us from living in the newness of life in our earthly life. But Lent invites the Spirit to breathe life more fully into our lives that are nothing but dust and ashes without that life-giving Spirit. The whole idea of it forces us to shift or hearts from self to God. The journey to the cross asks us to pick up our own cross without being affirmed for doing so. So how we approach Lent has a lot to do with our maturity. We move from a chaotic state to an unbounded, enthusiastic celebration of Fat Tuesday, to embracing strict limits of behavior by giving up things for Lent. Then we question the whole process until we discover a deeper more unified faith…that Lent may be about how we extend our love to others… what we put in not what we take out. It is a lot like putting together a puzzle. And as we put together pieces of the puzzle the puzzle just gets bigger and I believe more beautiful. With each piece we are brought into greater unity with Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. Sadly too many people never experience the Holy Spirit or think it like a wisp of invisible smoke that hovers over us when we die. The problem is that it seems so mystical. We have all seen fathers, so God the Father we can picture. We can picture Jesus the Son because he became human. But picturing the Holy Spirit is difficult. We end up with symbols like a dove or expressions of the Holy Spirit as being wind or fire or light. People and institutions seem to express the Holy Spirit in very different ways. Some focus on its raw power, others point to the Spirit’s work in bringing attention to Jesus Christ and still others focus on the Spirit’s role of working in the structure of the church in the lives of those called into service to lead. I like to think of the Father as God for us and Jesus as God with us and the Spirit as being God in us building community. With all this in mind I think that this Ash Wednesday is a good day to be marked with the sign of our faith…to be sealed in the promise of the Holy Spirit. It is a good day to know we will die, but also a good day to know our souls will live on in Christ.
Pray this Lent that we experience the Holy Spirit. Pray we are baptized in water but sealed in the Spirit. Pray this Ash Wednesday that the Holy Spirit makes God real to us. Pray we experience the freedom of the Holy Spirit. Pray we experience the Holy Spirit as a Wonderful Counselor that brings us to Christ. Pray we experience the guarantee of the Holy Spirit that makes us secure with God. Pray that after we have learned about trust that we experience the Holy Spirit as a Coach encouraging us to walk in spiritual maturity following the promptings of His directions. Pray this Ash Wednesday that we become free to move forward spiritually. Pray we become filled and empowered to live moment by moment on a journey of transformation experiencing the Holy Spirit as the Giver of things for the common good. Pray we are freed to serve God. Pray we find repentance and peace. Pray we seek a revival of the Holy Spirit that enables us to reap the harvest of our generation. Pray for the generation passing for their spirit has been strong.
Pray that somehow out of the ashes would come something of beauty that would not betray those who die. Pray we exchange beauty for ashes as we surrender our tears and Jesus replaces our sorrows with joy and a peace that covers us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 