A Concord Pastor Comments: Pause for Prayer: TUESDAY 2/13

Why ashes?

Getting ashes doesn't mean I'm holy.
As a matter of fact,
getting ashes means I'm not holy:
ashes are for sinners!

Ashes are for sinners,
for people like me who do wrong -
sometimes in little ways
and sometimes in big ways -
sometimes by what I do
and sometimes by what I fail to do...

Ashes are for people like me who screw up,
who forget what's really important,
who let things slide
- even a lot,
even too far,
even for too long...

Ashes are for folks like me
who sometimes hurt others,
who sometimes even hurt the people they love -
sometimes through carelessness
and sometimes because I mean to...

Ashes are for imperfect, broken people,
people like me
who let things get out of control -
I sometimes do the wrong thing
even when I know what the right thing is...

Ashes are for people like me
who take too many short cuts,
who don't always tell the truth,
who sometimes cheat...

Ashes are for people like me
who often keep silent
when they ought to speak up,
for people who tell a lie
rather than face the truth...

Ashes are for people like me...

Going to church and getting ashes
probably won't turn my life around overnight
but it could be a step, even just one step,
if only a small step, in a new direction,
in the right direction
on that path I know I want to follow
but have a hard time finding
and far too often stray from...

Getting ashes this Wednesday
just might be the beginning
of mending my relationship with God,
my relationship with some people in my life,
my relationship with myself...

Getting ashes this Wednesday
might help me take an honest look at things in my life
things that really need looking at,
need attention,
need letting go,
things that need changing,
reconciling and healing...

Getting ashes this Wednesday might feel kinda strange,
and I might be a little embarrassed
when others see my smudged forehead
and ask me why I did it...

Well, I could say I did it because:
I've been thinking about my life,
taking a little personal inventory,
considering some changes
and thought this might be a time,
a way,
a place to start...

And something tells me it surely won't hurt
and it might be good to give it a try,
to give it a chance:
to give God and me a chance
at a new beginning...

So even if it's been a long time
since the last time I got ashes,
I'm going to church this Wednesday
to say a prayer,
to get my forehead smudged,
to say hello to God
and take a first step on that path
I've been wanting to walk...

And since I know I'll come up
with a dozen reasons not to go,
I pray, Lord:
give me a nudge, a shove,
a kick in the butt or whatever it takes
for me to take that first step this Wednesday,
this Ash Wednesday,
a first step back to you...

Amen.

Ash Wednesday Prep