Ashes to Ashes

Today is the beginning of Lent, which according to tradition begins every prayerful meditation with a remembrance of moments of the story of Jesus Christ.

That's not an easy row to hoe, because it is a profoundly sad and tragic tale of betrayal, misunderstanding and human cruelty.  Something within us resists looking too closely at such darkness.

However, it is also a story of triumph of God's love for us in the midst of tragedy, and Lent is a time for us to reacquaint ourselves with the enormous love God has for us as Jesus becomes at once the Victim and the Victor.  

In the Gospel of Mark, the writer states: "They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated."

When Jesus knew that his prophecy was at hand, he went off to pray, accompanied by three of his closest disciples.  He didn't ask a lot of them, only that they be there while he prayed.  In the same way, God doesn't demand a lot of fancy prayers or devout practices from us during Lent. Instead we need to focus on all that happened during the journey from the garden in  to Gethsemane to that stark hill of Golgotha...but that won't be easy. Like Jesus, we may grow troubled and distressed as we better appreciate the cost of our redemption.  

I say all that to say this:  If you feel troubled or distressed and feel the need to pull away and meditate, just remember that even Jesus went to the Garden. Sometimes we ignore the signs that tell us we need to listen to our soul, hear the Gentle Voice within.  

Today as I begin my personal Lenten journey, I pray that you, too, will find a moment to remember God's great Love, because ashes that will be placed on the forehead of some who follow Jesus of Nazareth today are a reminder of what will someday happen to all earthly life.  The death they signify is for us a beginning; the beginning of our eternal life with God.

pray for peace,
Kimmy