Ash Wednesday

As I begin the slow and painful descent from the mountain of the Transfiguration into the valley of Lent I am struck by darkness, a deeper and darker night than any other Lent before. Maybe it is because I am in a deeper wilderness here, or maybe it is because the Church lacks the same presence here, or maybe night is finally falling, the night when no man can work.

While the world moves on with its daily life, and unfortunately much of the church does the same, I find myself wallowing in the ashes, the shards of my life strewn about like so many shattered pots and the truth "from dust you are and to dust you will return" echoing in my ears like a ghostly toning bell, reminding me of a quote from Donne, "never send to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."

A cacophony of eerie ringing resounds in the night as all are brought to dust and ash. All are laid low in the deadly night, sin their mortal wound. Ash Wednesday is a day of reflection upon the dark state of humanity without Christ. Without Christ we are all dust, we are all dead, we are all nothing. As the imposition of ashes occurs we shout and fall down acknowledging that we are not good enough, smart enough, brave enough. We acknowledge that we are dead and lost without Christ.

Very few people seem to like Ash Wednesday, and the season of Lent in general. Lent is a time of dark and sorrowful wandering in the wilderness of our own souls. Lent calls us to stop our busy self distracting, self destructive lives and take stock of who and what we are and to see in stark clarity all our flaws, failings, and setbacks. Lent is not fun, it is not happy, but it is true. We are all lost in a dark and frightening wilderness of our own souls, and in Lent we come to realize and acknowledge that we are powerless, broken, and helpless.

And because we are all dead and helpless, Christ came down and was incarnate, and met us in our darkness, met us in our helplessness, and traded places with us. Let us ponder these 40 days on where we are without Christ, and acknowledge all those dark and secret things that plagues us, and let us lay them down on the altar of our broken selves, and praise God for sending His one and only Son to die for us. Let us prepare for that Holy Mystery in which Life died that we may live, and continually remember that we are all dust and ash without Him who died for us all. Amen