Believe it or not, tomorrow begins the Lenten journey between Ash Wednesday and Easter. For many Christians, the day will include a service of ashes, or the imposition of ashes where the leader of the service will dip a thumb in ashes and make the sign of the cross on the forehead of each person. In doing so we recall our own mortality as well as our need for repentance in response to God's gracious gift of forgiveness and everlasting life through His Son Jesus. Sadly, for many people this service is seen as "too Catholic" or "too high church". I was raised in a church that thought much that way.
But for me, I think of two things. First of all, the ashes. Let's be honest, ashes are merely the burnt leftovers of what once was. If a house burns, the ashes are all that's left of the house where a family once lived, ate, laughed, cried, and grew up together. Ashes could be what is left of a burnt church building - I experienced that in Salina. The musical intruments, the hymnals, the bibles, the altar, the communion rail - nothing left but the ashes. For some, personal belongings go up in smoke - letters, diarys, quilts, clothes, children's school papers and pictures - all gone except for the ashes. Ashes often represent pain, heartache, sorrow, hopelessness - a yearning for that which once was, a desire for restoration of joy and happiness. Ah, yes. That's where the cross comes in.
The cross - a symbol that is tatooed on people's arms, worn on a chain around people's necks, on all kinds of jewelry, on the cover of cds, and on the front and back of clothing. And yet, for the people of Jesus' day, it represented a most horrible method of suffering and death. People could only turn their heads as they came into town for that is where they hung people on the cross - right on the edge of town so everyone could see, signifying that you'd better stay in line or this is what will happen to you. The cross - the symbol of torture and of ultimate death. It would be like us placing a symbol of an electric chair around our neck. How wierd is that?
Yet the irony of it all is the cross is what helps us overcome the ashes. The cross enables us to be restored, to return to that which was once good, to give us joy, and hope, and happiness. The power of the cross is realized as we come to grips with the fact that Jesus took the sins of the world upon himself. He took our place, he offered himself when it should have been us, he who was sinless became sin for us and died on our behalf taking our sins down to the grave with him. And what was seen as the symbol of death became the symbol of life. What was once ashes has been restored to its original beauty, even better.
Tomorrow begins the Lenten journey. Have the ashes placed on your forehead. Repent and believe in the gospel. And look to the cross as the symbol that brings restoration to you and yours.
Easter's a comin'.
