Ash Wednesday

Llast week I was looking through the Book of Common Prayer, which is jam-packed with truth, and I read the Ash Wednesday liturgy. Please indulge me as I write this extensive quote, which I think is a reminder and a call for all Christians. Let's see . . .

"After the sermon, all stand, and the Celebrant or Minister appointed invites teh people to the observance of a holy Lent, saying, 'Dear people of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord's passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.

"I invite you, therefore, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer."

The minister then places ash in the form of a cross on the foreheads of those present reminding the people that we are mortals who will die, but that God is enduring and through Jesus Christ we can have life eternal.

I think the author and pastor, Randy Alcorn, had it correct when he wrote about the need for truth and grace. One without the other leads to a mess. Truth without grace leads to legalism. Grace without truth leads to license. We need both. I need both. I need to exhibit and freely give and receive both. It worries me sometimes the impressions people get of Christians and it worries me more the impressions that Christians give. I simply believe that when we get a grasp upon how broken we are and how devastatingly in need we are of Grace, then we are able to be useful truth givers. I think then we really begin to understand the need for and the significance of Jesus on the Cross, Jesus in the ground, Jesus resurrected.