Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. As the season of preparation for Easter, Lent is a time of repentance (which means turning around), of walking through the wilderness and coming face to face with the things that would lead us away from God, of choosing practices that continually re-turn our focus toward God. Ash Wednesday typically focuses on remembering our mortality, and considering what disciplines will shape our lives during Lent. Here is a poem I wrote a couple years ago to mark the day.

Ash Wednesday

bend the knee
bow the heart
let dust and ashes leave their mark
the sign of cross
and grave and tomb
the earth we come from stakes its claim
we sing
we pray
we confess
we speak truth in the face of self-delusion
we sing mercy, Lord,
have mercy
we bend the knee
we turn around
and face to face
we see each other
also marked
by life in death
also claimed
by cross and flame
also humbled
also loved
also seeking
also forgiven
and we remember
we remember
we remember
whose we are
and where we shall return
and in the midst of grieving
we give thanks.