Day 1: Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Don Hughes

 

 

Ash Wednesday is an important day in the church calendar. It marks the beginning of Lent, a season of preparation for the celebration of Easter. Below are ideas for a meaningful Ash Wednesday.

 

1. Worship services on Ash Wednesday, a time of prayer, singing, confession and pardon, a sermon, and the imposition of ashes.
2. Serve on Ash Wednesday. We are part of the human family, making it a great day to serve others.

3. Give to your congregation and other organizations that serve others. Generosity can also be creative.

4. Abstain/fast. Giving something up for Lent is a common practice for many Christians. We give up a favorite food or try to kick a bad habit. Don’t confine to food or habits.
5. Pray your day. Rather than setting aside special time for prayer, pray your day. Pray for drivers and fellow passengers. Pray for people in hospitals and police stations. Offer prayers throughout the day thanking God for our coworkers.

6. Make something, making today a great day to create something. Get back in the workshop. Sit at a piano and let the music flow. Take out the paints and create a work of art. As you create, remember our Creator who longs to be in relationship with you.

7. Be still, others find meaning in stillness. Light a candle and pause before the presence of God. Enjoy a cup of coffee on your deck. Listen for the voice of God.
8. Clean something. Ash Wednesday is a good day to start spring cleaning. As you remove things you no longer need and reorder those you do, be mindful of the ways God cleanses us. The Bible tells us “As far as east from west – that’s how far God has removed our sin from us” (Psalm 103:12). We remember that Jesus gave his life so we might be free from our sins and know new life.

9. Burn something, when you finish cleaning, take some paper you no longer need and light them, watch them burn to ashes. The ashes our pastor smudge on us during Ash Wednesday worship comes from the burning of last year’s Palm Sunday palms. They remind us of our mortality and call us to repentance – seeking God’s forgiveness for our sins both for the things we have done and not done.

10. Forgive and seek forgiveness. As we pray for God’s grace, we should also seek forgiveness from those we have wronged. Ash Wednesday is a great time to go to those you have hurt. It is a wonderful day to forgive another. Jesus taught us to pray, forgive us for the ways we have wronged you just as we also forgive those who have wronged us (Matthew 5:12).

Eternal and merciful God, we praise you for your unwavering goodness to us all;
For mercies that fall like rain on the just and the unjust;
For words that find us in our seasons of not-knowing;
For songs your love has taught our hearts to sing;

For coincidental happenings which, viewed in retrospect, speak of your gentle leading and loving care;

For good memories and true hopes, and every thought of you.

Expose our timidity and unbelief that live behind our craving for security;

Give us – in these days – to know, as we have not yet known, Jesus Christ, in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his struggle in life and suffering.

✚✚✚