As strange as it may seem, Ash Wednesday, the beginning
of Lent, is one of my favorite days of the Christian year. Perhaps an
explanation is in order: My family and I lived in New Orleans for sixteen
years. The last twelve years I was Rector/Pastor of St. George’s Episcopal
Church on St. Charles Avenue, just two blocks from the main Mardi Gras Parade
Route. This location made possible a major fundraising opportunity, “Mardi Gras
Spirits!” We opened our doors and turned our fellowship hall (Undercroft) into
a café with Cajun and Creole food, burgers, soft drinks, beer and wine. We also
provided bathrooms for free, though we did accept “tips for trips.” After two
weeks of daily and nightly parades ending with an eighteen hour Mardi Gras Day,
I was so ready for Lent and for the Ash Wednesday reminder of what is really
important in our lives, including the proclamation that “we are dust, and to
dust we will return,” that we will die, and that what we do on this earth and
in this life is important.
In the
Episcopal Church, Fourth Century B.C. Jewish Prophet, Joel (2:1-2, 12-17) sets
the tone for a Holy Lent by proclaiming God’s call to repentance to the people
of Judah. As I read or hear this message, I hear it as God’s call to us as
well.
“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound
the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for
the day of the Lord is
coming, it is near--a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick
darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army
comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in
ages to come.
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your
clothing. Return to the Lord,
your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn
and relent, and leave a blessing behind him. . .
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify
a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble
the aged; gather the children, even infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom
leave his room, and the bride her canopy.
Between the vestibule and the
altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep. Let them say, "Spare your people, O Lord. . .
God calls us to repentance, not to
punish, but to bless. God chooses to bless us so that God might bless others
through us and our lives. The importance of this invitation is seen in who is
invited to this solemn assembly: the aged; the children including nursing
infants; even the bride and bridegroom must put off the honeymoon to hear God’s
invitation.
Yes, our daily lives are important
to us and to our families and friends, and to God. But for our lives to be what
God wants for us we must first hear Joel’s words and receive God’s blessing!
“Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your
clothing. Return to the Lord,
your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in
steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn
and relent, and leave a blessing behind him.”
As we return, weep and mourn, may
the merciful God forgive us, shower us with God’s steadfast love and cover us
with blessings.
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