Miércoles de Ceniza

I’m inspired by the Hispanic community over in Morristown. I saw an ad for Miércoles de Ceniza and of course, it means:
 
Ash Wednesday.
 
Lent already?
 
I know, right? What happened? Another year.
Boom!
 
Get your ashes here tonight (Wednesday), at 7pm in the sanctuary and on Facebook Live. If you’re streaming remotely, grab some bread or crackers—juice or wine—for the Lord’s Supper. 
 
Let’s do a little worship tonight! You’ll be in and out in less than 45 minutes, I promise. Then you can spend the rest of the evening wondering if you smudged your forehead. Just sayin’…
 
No matter how you’ve chosen to observe Lent—that part tends to be an individual thing. But, it’s also something we do together, corporately, in community. A former moderator of PC(USA), Bruce Reyes Chow, reminds us of it today. Community.
 
Although certain aspects of Lent, and any Lenten discipline, require self-reflection and self-awareness, we must not enter that endeavor believing that it is only about our individual experiences. For we are reminded over and over and over again that the journey of life, the walk to the cross, and the experience of resurrection is a communal one—together we often turn on one another and away from God; and together we can experience forgiveness, repentance, and new life; and together we can be the best of who God intends.
 
Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
 
      — Isaiah 58:6 (NRSV)  

Come tonight and let’s do this—fasting, forgiving, repenting, and being the best of who God intends. All we can do is the best we can do—whether you habla Español or not!
 
Grace and Peace,
Scott