Ash Wednesday

It’s a question I ask every couple that comes to me for pre-marital counseling. Actually it is a two-part question but their answers are always very interesting. At some point in our time together I’ll ask them “What have you seen and experienced in the home you grew up in that you want to carry into your new home and what do you want to do differently? As you can imagine, there are often very strong feelings and opinions on this. Then, after the “I do’s,” the couple gives it a shot to build the more perfect union.
As a student of church history I can see this same attempt with each new generation of leaders. Every generation assesses the church environment they grew up in, they then try and bring with them the good and dump the bad. I think it’s how the Holy Spirit reforms his Church. Sometimes, due to an overreaction, things get tossed out that shouldn’t have hit the dumpster. For example, years ago some thought that people were putting their trust in the sacrament of baptism or communion instead of in Christ. The church in which they grew up essentially said that you were good to go if you were baptized. So, baptism got sent to Exile Island and we have denominations that to this day don’t celebrate either sacrament.
One of the more exciting works of the Spirit that I see going on today is to see the return of some of those items that were shelved be taken back off the shelf for the good of God’s people. Forgive me for mixing metaphors, but many in the emerging church have gone dumpster diving and discovered the church calendar which centers our lives and our year on Christ rather than secular holidays or the months of the year. I’m married to a woman that would remind us that there are other goodies buried under the trash that also need to be rediscovered for the good of God’s people, the Feasts of the Lord…maybe she should write the next posting on this blog!
So, today is Ash Wednesday but the fact that so many have no idea why that’s important or what that means gives me a wonderful opportunity to talk about one of our ancient, centuries old, traditions in the church. Ash Wednesday begins the 40-day journey, which ends the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. For those of you that are turning to your calendar to count, Sundays are not included in the 40 days because for the early church every Sunday is a day to celebrate the resurrection and Christ’s conquering of sin and death and the new life we have in Him.
The 40 days is significant because: Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days in which he faced the devil’s temptations; tradition holds that Jesus was in the tomb for 40 hours; for 40 years the Israelites wandered in the wilderness; for 40 days Moses was on Mt. Sinai; “it rained and poured for 40 daysies daysies…Noah in the ark (sorry, I had to); Jonah gave the city of Ninevah 40 days to repent; and it took Elijah 40 days to walk to Mt. Horeb. Christians call this 40-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter “Lent” which originally came from the Dutch word lente meaning Spring.
I think the spiritual value for you and me in this period of time, which is often marked by fasting or denying ourselves of something, is two-fold. First, it helps to spiritually prepare us for Easter as we are connected with other Christians around the world. The events of our Lord Jesus on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday deserve hearts that are focused and open.
The other spiritual benefit to Lent is this idea of denial. There have been some years that I’ve “given up” something for Lent and other times when I made new commitments, such as reading several books that have been a spiritual boost to me. One year I gave up TV, another year I gave up pop/soda, and then came the hardest of all…the year I gave up coffee. What was interesting after each of those periods of time was that those things didn’t “taste” as good once I started doing them again. (I know what you are thinking…it’s a very good question.) Coffee was bitter. Pop was too sweet and tasted like medicine. I couldn’t believe the vulgarity and violence carried over the networks. Through each of those experiences I began to see how “starving the flesh” raised the question of what I had developed a taste for. In the end, it’s not about pop, coffee, or TV, but what you and I have an appetite for…the things of this world or the things of the next.
So, what to do with this? Good question. If there is an appetite you have for something that is coming between you and the Lord, fast from it. Starve the flesh. Take a bold step. Reach out for help. Maybe there is something in your life that isn’t a bad thing, but you feel led to practice this ancient tradition of denial and it will be a token of your love for God as we march toward the cross and empty tomb. In whatever shape or form, use these days to draw near to the God who wants to draw near to us.