Some thoughts about Lent from Pastor Marta
From dust we come to dust we shall return. / Ashes to Ashes. These are two phrases often spoken on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent each year. We are marked with the cross marking the first day of the season of Lent.
These words are neither the first nor the last word. These phrases are not simply about death. Often when we hear the words of dust and ash, we think gone, dead, passed. These phrases are not specifically biblical scripture but are derived themes that have been drawn out of our sacred text. For example, “God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and humans became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7.
These phrases of dust and ash are phrases of unity and common humanity. We all were born from the earth and we will all return to the earth and then there is everything in the middle. We call that life.
At the beginning of Lent we are invited to remember our birth, our lives, and our vulnerabilities, knowing that we will return to dust. We are invited to repent our sins and spend some time thinking of how we might change. Our faith calls us to this practice at least once a year. Some of us might give up nightly television to read a good book. Others will commit to taking a walk three times a week, while others will choose to be more generous with their time and resources or volunteer at the local food pantry. Usually these practices come out of our personal vulnerabilities and are a way to repent bad habits.
We remember our own births and lives in the same way that we tell the stories of Jesus’ birth (Christmas), life (teaching and parables), vulnerabilities (prayer and desert time), death (Holy Week) and ultimate resurrection. During this season we often want to grieve those who have already returned to dust and it is okay to do that. But Ash Wednesday and Lent are so much more than the memories of our saints, ancestors, or what some might call our cloud of witnesses.
The season of Lent is a personal faith practice and a season to either give up the gluttonous ways of our lives or take on good works or simply go to our quiet spaces for intentional prayer. In doing that we are reminded that we are mere mortals who simply came from the dust of the earth and will return. The good news? We are invited to individual practice within a communal setting. This part acknowledges our common pursuit. It was what Jesus had hoped for. That we would not do this hard work all by ourselves but in a renewed, loving, non-judgemental setting.
The term cloud of witnesses, from Hebrews 12:1 (Bible Scripture here), serves to remind us of those heroes, heroines, divine beings, prophets and prophetesses, saints or mentors in our midst that hang around us like big fluffy clouds, bearing witness to lives well lived. Some might call them the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, they are cheering us on and serving to energize us to unfold God’s kin-dom.
Roger referred to the term cloud of witness in the biblical text suggested for last Sunday 2/21/2021) and reflection questions, from Seeds of Devotion, Weekly Contemplations on Faith called For Ash Wednesday (page 56). It was in homage of those people that have walked alongside him even in the failures and despite the despair. Those people were with him. For the people of the Bible the cloud of witnesses were most likely people like Moses and Abraham and Elijah - the great prophets of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament.)
Lent is a season of the Liturgical Calendar that comes after the Season of Epiphany and before the Season of Easter. Each Season has been assigned a liturgical color and number of days and a coinciding biblical text. Lent’s color is lavender and it is forty days and nights long. The number of days refers to Jesus’ forty days and nights in the desert. (Matthew Chapter 2 ) Jesus also needed some time to pray, contemplate, repent, and be aware of his humanity. He realized, in his desert time, what he was capable of and what he needed to accomplish, not without hardship and not without God’s grace.
There have been many seasons of Lent in my life when I have said, “I am going into my cave.” Mostly meaning, that I am not going to engage in relationships that take up too much emotional energy and honoring my introverted self. Sometimes this has meant a social media fast or staying home each weekend. I am not going to do either of those things this year. This year of global pandemic has been like a twelve month Lenten season rather than just 40 days and 40 nights. For some of us, we have been practicing new ways of living for twelve months! Instead, I am engaging in embodied activities that move my physical self in different ways. Because of the global pandemic and our cave-like lifestyles my bones and muscles have gotten a bit rickety. I am taking extra walks, yoga practices, running on a treadmill and having massages. This way, my prayer will not be of the mind but of the body.
My hope is that during our online Lenten retreat, you will begin to reflect on what Lent will be for you too.