Happy Ash Wednesday

February 17, 2021
Midweek study with Pastor Edith

Happy Ash Wednesday and Happy Lent!

Today, February 17th is Ash Wednesday according to the church calendar. Here’s a little summary of what Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season are all about from the United Methodist Book of Worship: “Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten which means “spring.” The season is a preparation for celebrating Easter. Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Christians [ashes are often placed on the forehead as a reminder of our mortality; ‘from dust you came, to dust you shall return’…Because Sundays are always little Easters, the penitential spirit of Lent should be tempered with joyful expectation of the Resurrection.”

There you have it, and some of you might be thinking “So What?’ Well, let me encourage you with this popular verse from Psalm 51:10-12:
“Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence O Lord, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and renew a right spirit within me”  [typed from memory, feel free to find the translation you like best].

Just like we celebrate the Advent season before Christmas as a way to really appreciate the Christmas event, so too, we have an opportunity to prepare our hearts and lives for a fuller experience of Easter.“So What?”, So what will you choose to do? It would be way too easy to shut ourselves off from worship on this cold and snowy day and simply do nothing, or just live out this day in the same old way, with no thought of what God offers us all – A way to a new spirit and new life, a joyful life. Many churches are not having service tonight due to the weather. Many also offer a service online, some on the radio and T.V. If all of that seems too difficult for you, try having your own time of worship right where you are.

Say out loud these words from the Apostle Paul:
“God put on him [Christ] the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG).

To reinforce that, recite out loud John 3:16 [you might even have this one memorized]: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life” [from memory].

What service would be complete without a song? How about the simple and beautiful- “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so. Little one’s to Him belong, they are week, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves me. The bible tells me so.” HAPPY LENT!