“Let Every Heart Prepare…”

 

for Ash Wednesday and Lent

 Wednesday, February 6th, is Ash Wednesday, which begins Lent’s 40 days of reflection on Christ’s sacrifice of Himself for our sins. These 40 days (excluding Sundays, which are “Little Easters”) are the first half of a larger rainbow arch, which centers over Easter. The other half will be the Easter season’s 50 days in which we celebrate our baptismal rebirth in Christ.

 

We are marked with ashes ~ The Jews used ashes as an outward sign of repentance. While ashes remind us of dust and mortality, in keeping with Lent we can see ashes also as signs of our repentance, turning away from sin and being faithful to the Gospel.

 

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper ~ Every time we take Christ’s body and blood, we are reminded of His willing sacrifice for us so that we can be the Father’s forgiven children, living for His glory here on earth, awaiting the inheritance of heaven when we die.

 

We are marked with the sign of the cross ~ The sign of the cross is a sign of our Baptism. In Baptism, God has cleansed us from sin, marking us forever as His redeemed children. While we repent of the reason Christ had to die—our sin—at the same time we rejoice that we are forever His because of Christ’s death and resurrection.

 

We prepare for Easter ~ The heart of the Easter message is that Christ gave Himself for us to make us right with His Father once more. During Lent we give up sinful, self-serving ways, replacing them with new ways to give time and energy and forgiveness to those in need. This is the heart of Lenten preparation.