Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.
It cannot be possibly bigger contrast than between the beginning and the end of Lent. Tonight we begin with ASH, grey, dirty substance that is imposed on our forehead. In Forty Days we will celebrate the Risen, clean, glorified Body of our Lord that as a sacrament of Eucharist nourishes our souls.
Ash and the Eucharistic bread: two poles of the Lenten journey; surprising connection
On one side: the element of dirt – on another side: the element of salvation
Death and Life
On one side: cleansing of sin, confession – on another: full participation in the life of the Church
Beginning and the End
Without the first, there is no chance to experience the second
LENT is the blessed time of making the transformation FROM the world centred on ourselves, FROM the continent of selfishness, FROM the city where everything is so-well known, FROM our own, home-made images of God, Christ, Church and Salvation… LENT is the blessed journey from all of that --- TO…. A new life in Christ that if it is really new and with Christ, will surprise us, liberate us, sanctify us… LENT is a blessed growth in faith, hope, love, knowledge…. Growth that if only is a growth, will bring a pain of …parting from so many well known, taken from granted… elements of OUR devout, profound, knowledgeable Christian life. We are not pagans who want to become Christians, we are Christians who wish to become more Christ-like…
First and foremost, this process of growth will lead us out of SIN, out of many its symptoms, OUT of the city of Jerusalem where our selfishness dominates to…. the desert… This evening with Christ we leave the city of Jerusalem.
Are we ready for this challenge?
We are called today to recognise that we are spiritually hungry and that this present world is not able to give as sufficient food for that journey. We have to face our hunger and thirst, and we have nothing to eat but ASH. We are called to recognise that we are naked, and the colourful robes of this world cannot cover our soul, so we have nothing but ASH. We are called to face our wounds, fears, our egoism all these painful moments when we hurt other people, and we cannot hind our faces but in ash.
But this is today. In the following days of Lent, together with Christ on his way to Golgotha we will learn how to grow. WE shall learn how to give ourselves as the bread of love for others, we shall learn how to cover people nakedness with a robe of mercy and forgiveness. WE, finally, shall learn how to look at ourselves, the meaning of our life in the light of his Resurrection commemorated by every Eucharist.
Revd Dr Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski
Richmond/Surrey
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