Ash Wednesday... Thursday

Yesterday the Christian world celebrated Ash Wednesday.  Ocean View Methodist had a beautiful service, and I always somehow find myself at worship as I begin my season of Lent.  However, I found it VERY interesting how 'alive' facebook was about your thoughts on Ash Wednesday.  Here are two of my friends giving their (great) thoughts:

 

Heather Bragg Troxell

FYI: The season of Lent is not about dieting for Jesus...

Charles Asbridge

People are funny how they say,"why are you doing for lent?" I answer, "the same thing I do the rest of my life." It's no longer I that live, but Christ in me.

Love.  Why is it that suddenly at lent everyone feels the need to give up ice cream or facebook?  Why do I have to suffer and not see you on facebook because you need help focusing on Jesus?  And I agree with my wise friend Heather, this is not a season for dieting, it's all about Jesus.

For some reason, I always forget to give up something on Lent.  Every year, I sit on 'Ashed Thursday' as I call it and try to figure out if I should start my sacrifices now.  Better late than never?  But then I wonder why I am doing it in the first place?  And what IS Ash Wednesday?

Here is what 'Wikipedia' says about Ash Wednesday:

Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter.

According to the Canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan.   Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this forty day liturgical period of prayer and fasting. by

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned.

Ahh, got it now.  So it's about Jesus.  It's about worship.  It's about God.  It's about mourning and repenting and bringing yourself to God.  God it.  Well I do admit that I am thankful for a time to help me focus on this, as obviously this isn't my hearts' focus on most moments of the days.  But this year, I want my prayer to be for Lent that I would take this further than the feast of Easter morning, and continue in a heart of humility before God.  As I look ahead to Easter, this year I long that all parts of my life would rise to new heights through Jesus' Resurrection.

John 3:30, "He must become greater; I must become less."


Happy Ashed Thursday.

Love,
Sarah


picture from boncherry.com