“For dust you are and to dust you will return.”
— Genesis 3:19 (NIV)
On Ash Wednesday we are marked on our foreheads with a reminder of
our mortality.
The cross of ashes on our foreheads means that we are committing –
that we are undertaking Lent as a season of prayer and repentance, of
dying to ourselves. It also describes our human condition: it says that we
are wounded and need healing. Most importantly, it tells us that, as
followers of Jesus Christ, we are to carry our crosses.
As we mark these ashes on the forehead, we remind ourselves that no
grief is solitary. That what has stricken you is also carried by me. We
begin our Lenten journey together, reminding us that we are mortals, we
are dust. It is not easy, but we cling to this: God has always seen sacred
potential in the dust.
The journey of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Come and join us.