Lent Devotional // Week 1
by Rev. Mary Lytle
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Consider This
As a preacher’s kid in the Methodist tradition, I always lamented going to school on Ash Wednesday. I had a large number of Catholic friends who would show up to school with the dark smudge of the cross plastered across their foreheads. A visible sign to the rest of the school that they were somehow special and set apart. My own church wouldn’t hold their service until that evening…much too late for me to parade my ashes around the halls. What was the point? Why did it matter if I went to the service in the evening if no one would get to see the evidence of my devotion?
Historically, the Church has used the 40 days leading up to Easter as a time of spiritual preparation. Converts prepared for Holy Baptism and people were reconciled and restored to the faith community. Through these acts, the entire body was reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel––and their need for renewal.
Ash Wednesday serves two purposes, and neither involves parading oneself around the school like a religious mascot. It reminds us of our own mortality, calling us to repentance and reconciliation. Yes, it is somber. Yes, we reflect on themes of sin and death. As the ashes are placed on our foreheads, we recognize that we are broken and in need of a savior, “remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
And then there’s the rest of the story.
We remember these things in light of the truth of the gospel. We remember that we serve a God who reconciled us to himself through Christ.
What we are doing on Ash Wednesday is taking the necessary step of admitting our need for redemption. Our need for a savior. We are emptying ourselves so that we can be filled with God. And through that act we can begin to experience the new life that only repentance can bring. The ashes are not meant to shame you or for you to wear as a badge of honor. The ashes are a reminder that we are in desperate need of a savior and a reminder that we have one.
Prayer
A prayer from Psalm 51 ––
Merciful and loving Father,
I come before You with a humble heart, seeking Your grace and forgiveness.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love;
according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against You, and You alone, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight.
Yet You are right in Your judgment, and Your ways are just.
I know that You do not desire sacrifices alone,
or I would bring them.
The sacrifice You seek is a broken spirit,
a heart that is humble and contrite before You––
this, O God, You will not despise.
So here I am, Lord, with a heart laid bare before You.
Have mercy on me, cleanse me, and make me new.
Let my life be a testimony of Your grace,
that I may walk in Your ways all my days.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Question
How will you prepare your heart for this season of Lent?
What sins do you need to repent of?
Are there things you are holding tightly to, hoping that they will bring you an abundant life?
In what ways can you be emptied so that you can then be filled with the love of God?
Reflect on how God is calling you to lay down yourself and place Him in the center of your life.
Comments