Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, which is the season in the church that prepares our hearts for Easter. During Lent Christians all over the globe give up certain pleasures and enter into a time of fasting. The purpose of these small sacrifices is to tune our hearts and move our eyes towards the cross of Christ, where our Savior gave his life for our salvation. Lent is also a time to remind ourselves of what the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” In short, we have been called to “live dead,” to pick up our own cross and daily die to ourselves if we want to truly live.
In light of all of that, today I found myself examining my face in the mirror . . . and I realized that new wrinkles were appearing on my brow. My first thought was “Why not? Premature wrinkles go great with the premature graying!” But then it hit me. . . . shouldn’t the brow be the last place that wrinkles should show up on the face of one who is living dead? Aren’t wrinkles a sign that my face is reflecting the worries of this life rather than the joy that comes from Christ within? If I have to wrinkle sooner rather than later, I want giant crows’ feet spreading from my eyes due an overabundance of laughter. I want deep lines to wave across my checks caused by too much smiling. I have, after all, been crucified with Christ, which doesn’t remove all of life’s troubles but brings perspective to them. So why do I let the concerns of living in this world furrow my brow? I guess I’m still learning how to live dead.
This Lent season I’ve decided that I’m not just going to give up the usual luxuries; I’m going to give up worrying about things I have no control of. I’m going to trade my furrows for a smile and I’m going to keep my eyes on the cross, remembering that I am crucified with Christ . . . and that resurrection is on its way. Do you want to join me?
The Symbols of Lent
By Ann Byers
Ash Wednesday really starts about 11 months earlier, on Palm Sunday of the previous year. That was when we celebrated the Triumphal Entry, the people’s accurate but misguided hailing of Jesus as their savior and king. Palm fronds carpeted the path that ended days later at the cross where Jesus was revealed as a mortal man and at the empty tomb, where he showed himself to be the immortal God. The waving palms are expressions of faith and hope. Every year, after the celebration, the palms used to reenact the story are gathered together and burned.
On Ash Wednesday the priest dips his finger in the burnt remains of Palm Sunday and traces a black cross on the foreheads of those who hail Jesus as their savior and king. He tells each one, “Remember, man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.” The words remind us that our bodies, like the earthly form of Jesus, are mortal, temporary. But the cross promises the resurrection; it tells us that we, like Jesus, are immortal, created to live forever with him.
Lent is a period of preparation for Easter. It begins with the carefully preserved reminders of faith and hope, the essence of the resurrection.