The Hard and Necessary Self-reflection and Recommitment

Welcome to Lent 2024! We are glad that you have joined us on this journey.

Every day during this season we will offer short reflections on the themes of Lent and how these might connect with life today. We certainly look forward to your being an active parcipant through your comments, suggestions and feedback.

As in the past, the blog will feature some guest contributors, and we start Ash Wednesday with a guest! Michael Marshall, who is fully committed to recovery and healing work, is currently enrolled at CRCDS, in pursuit of a Master’s of Divinity degree (and has been doing his ministry “field work” at Spiritus Christi this year). He serves as the Rochester Regional Coordinator for the Poor Peoples Campaign and has a deep calling and ministry related to Social Justice. Thank you, Michael, for your contribution!

In my Christian faith and tradition, I observe Ash Wednesday and honor the customs surrounding the Lenten season. The gospel reading for today from Matthew 6 delves deeply into Lenten spiritual practices, worship, and prayer.

During Lent, Catholics and other Christian faiths immerse themselves in the acts of repentance, prayer, and fasting – all leading up to Resurrection Sunday.

For today’s Gospel reading, I would like to explore the first verse in chapter six of the book of Matthew. In it we hear Jesus say, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them…” As I was pondering this text, it occurred to me that these verses may seem antithetical to acts of penance, such as the Imposition of Ashes. If we are told not to perform righteous deeds in public, why public ashes? 

It is important to remember that while we display our penance publicly, the act is only symbolic. Ash Wednesday reminds us of the hard and necessary self reflection and recommitment necessary for being a follower of Jesus. The external ashes invite us back to the very real internal acts of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving – all key components in the observation of Lent. These practices are all integral steps and spiritual disciplines in the preparation for and living out of Lent.

The act of using ashes as a symbol of repentance dates to the early church. It was first used by the church for Lent, by St. Gregory the Great, the Gregorian Sacramentary, known as the Day of Ashes. To be later institutionalized by Pope Urban II in 1091. In its current incarnation, I would argue that the act of the Imposition of Ashes is more of a personal profession of one’s faith, more than an act of public piety. It is an outward sign of the inward disposition that we are trying to embody.

As we prepare to enter this season of Lent, let us slow our pace, still our minds, and open our hearts to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. These acts of Lent are more than spiritual disciplines and practices for me. They are more than mere reminders of the contemplative prayers and meditations carried out for forty days. They are the building blocks towards creating the beloved community of believers. They are steps towards right relationship, with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and with one another.

On this day, we humble ourselves (from the root word ‘humus’ which means the ground) when we recall the words of Ecclesiates 3:20, “Remember, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Michael goes on to say: I will spend Ash Wednesday at a Methodist Ecumenical Prayer breakfast at Asbury First United Methodist Church’s Community Outreach Center. (All are welcome: 7:00-9:00 breakfast and Worship Service @ 9:30, distribution of Ashes will follow. 1010 East Ave. Rochester, N.Y.) In the Afternoon, I will join the Spiritus Christi family for their 12:10 pm Mass and Ash distribution at 121 Fitzhugh St. via Zoom as well. To round out the start of my Lenten season, I will take part at my home church, Immanuel Baptist in an Ecumenical Ash Wednesday service with the good people of Spiritus Christi. 815 Park Avenue, @ 7 pm. Please feel free to join me in any or all of these sacred worship experiences.