Praise, Prayer, and Ash.
A Reflection for Ash Wednesday
The Rev. Marissa Rohrbach
Every year on Palm Sunday, we bless and then receive palm fronds to remind us of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. On that day, we're invited to join in with the crowd, to cheer as he makes his way into the city, to imagine the excitement and the tension in the streets. The crowds, after all, believed that Jesus was coming to free them - quite literally - from the oppression of the Romans. They were expecting an uprising, a new world order. And instead, just hours later, because they haven't gotten what they wanted, their cheering and praises turn into shouts to crucify Jesus. He isn't who they thought, and he doesn't do what they want - so their love of him quickly turns into something else.
Every year before Ash Wednesday, we burn the palms from the year before. It is a powerful image: from the ash of our praise last year comes the visible sign of our lament. The palms that were intended to remind us of praise and triumph become the ash that reminds us of our need. We wear the ash as a sign of our mortality. It's a humble action, a sign of our willingness to admit to ourselves and to the world around us that we are wholly dependent on God's love and mercy. And learning to take this posture is an important part of cultivating a mature faith. The burned palms should cause us to wonder about our own relationship with Jesus. How strong and sure is our love? Do we only worship and praise God when we need something? Or when something good has happened? Do we fall away from our faith if our prayers aren't answered just as we'd like? Is our love for Jesus conditional? Is our prayer life an afterthought? How much time have we dedicated to learning, serving, and growing in our faith?
Ash Wednesday is also the beginning of the season of Lent. And so as part of our worship on this day, I say these words each year:
I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the
observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance;
by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and
meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning
of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now
kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.
What that really means that you are invited into a real, transformational relationship with Jesus. At its core, this invitation to a holy Lent is an invitation to learn to love God and our neighbor as openly, urgently, and fully as God loves us. The invitation is specific, to participate in prayer, fasting, and self-denial, and to read and meditate on God's Word. It's a specific invitation because these are the avenues of learning and growth that have been well traveled by generations of the faithful before us who wanted to draw more near to God. And on this journey, we know that it is possible to grow in our faith, to discover the freedom of Jesus - even God's vision of freedom and transformation is different than our own.
On this Ash Wednesday, I hope you will hear this invitation again. To follow Jesus into the wilderness. To look him in the eye. Take on a new pattern of prayer. Give up something meaningful - something that keeps you from being in right relationship with God or with your neighbor. Put the obstacles away, create space for silence, prayer, or something that brings you hope. Make this season matter. You cannot really know the joy of Easter until you have known the way of Lent, the stories of Holy Week, the darkness of Calvary, and the loneliness of the tomb. Enter into this season with your whole heart, join in the special Lenten opportunities planned at St. Matt's. As the ash is placed on your head, remember that Jesus' love for you is not transactional - instead, it is only this love that makes possible a life beyond the ash.
Also, if you want to hear more about the season of Lent and where some of these practices come from, take a listen to Episode 77 of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's Podcast: http://www.coffeehour.org. You'll enjoy their conversation!