Lenten Ashes

 We prepare to pray not by composing our prayers but ourselves. (Eugene H. Peterson)

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Not everyone belongs to a tradition that recognizes or practices the discipline of Lent or the distribution of ashes, but that’s OK. Like most practices, all are welcomed to participate, but no one is required to. It’s all part and parcel of the “God is Love and God is Loving” Movement of the past half century. I’ll admit, I’ve never been part of the “God is going to fry you for XYZ” Brigade. 

I’m not sure punishment, or the fear of punishment was ever as big a deterrent as people think it is or should be.

I remember being a wee-young lad of probably three or four years of age. I found a leather riding crop up on the fireplace mantel. I had no idea what it was or what it was used for, so I managed to clamber up one way or another to retrieve it and asked my mother what it was. She said, “It’s a riding crop. You spank a horse with it to make it behave.”

Now, I’ll confess to the world here and now that I do not remember ever being hit, spanked, slapped, whipped, or physically assaulted by either of my parents at any time in my life. It’s not because I was an angel (although I’m sure I was as close as one could humanly be to such). They were simply not into punishment. I do remember looking at that riding crop with fresh eyes, however, and knew instinctively how it could be used and how it might feel on my tender behind, so I steered as clear of that bit of leather as if it was a rattler or red-hot iron.

I think we humans instinctively know right from wrong, for the most part. We know what will bring honor to one’s home or name, and what will bring dishonor and shame. Pretty much from the git-go we learn “NO!” for things that are harmful, dangerous, or out of bounds, and we reap praise for the things we do right – like the first time we stand up or walk without help, or say Momma, Pappa, or Rumplestiltskin. 

Ash Wednesday, like most special days in a Church Calendar, is a teaching tool. It reminds us we are mortal. We know that, of course. We all reach an age where, at some point, we realize we are now closer to the exit of life than the entry. There’s nothing wicked or evil about that. It’s all part and parcel of the circle of life. The purpose of the Day is simply to remind us our days are numbered, yes, but they are also in God’s hands. 

“Thou art dust, and to dust shalt thou return.” God created us from the primal elements. All of us. Not just we “special” ones. All of us. There is nothing wrong with dirt, dust, or ashes. Try growing flowers without dirt. Dirt – soil – is the stuff we’re made of. Carl Sagan reminds us we are made of the “stuff of stars!” A lump of coal is nothing but dead wood waiting for the heat and pressure sufficient to transform it into a diamond. Ash Wednesday reminds us we are precious stones in the hands of a Master Jeweler.

Lent is a season that invites us all to ponder where we are in life, to take stock and ask if we are doing all we can to make this world a better place (and by “this world” I mean our family, neighborhood, and community – and, indeed, ourselves). 

I have never subscribed to “worm theology” – the idea we are unloved or unlovable or in need of punishment and burial. That simply leads us to ignore the greatness of the God who put us here to take care of creation and one another. Lent reminds us the days are getting longer. The love of God is growing warmer. We know it because we can feel it, see it, and experience it.

God calls us to rise from the ashes, like the Phoenix – to bring hope and healing here in this, our valley, so let’s get dirty; Happy Lent!

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of newly released: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available exclusively through Amazon in Print and e-book)