From Ashes to Joy
Without a doubt some of the most poignant moments of ministry are giving someone communion right after their loved one has died. That moment that symbolizes all that we believe about life, death and God, all wrapped into this moment. Equal to that is to put ashes on someone's forehead when you know they are fighting a serious illness, or perhaps have recently faced the death of a loved one. It is poignant to remind someone that we will die, and that in that death, we will be with God. The God part gives us hope, but we still have to stare death in the face. Ash Wednesday for me has often focused on the death side of our faith. The reality of what I call the journey of grief when we come close to death. I often talk about that first year of a grief journey as the "year of firsts;" all of the moments throughout the first year when you realize your loved one is no longer there.
This year, on Ash Wednesday, as I arose to do the 6am service, I thought about how my own perspective of mortality has changed in the few months of being married. There IS something different, and while I loved Chad before we were married, having said vows before God, the other person's life takes on a different weight. Which of then got me thinking about the "year of firsts." And that is when I realized that I AM in a year of firsts. One I have never been in before, quite like this. I am in the midst of a year of joy: my first Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Ash Wednesday as a married person, with this guy in my life who is my husband. I realized I need to acknowledge this joy as much as I have focused on grief and loss in the past.
And THAT is what Lent is about folks. Realizing our own mortality, not so that we can call ourselves a worm and acknowledge our wretchedness, but so that we can experience all that life as a child of God presents to us, the joyful and the grief-laden. Lent is the time to pay attention to the important relationships in our life, primarily our relationship with God. How can we turn and pay attention to that which is most important to us? How can we draw ourselves closer into right relationship with those people whose value in our life is beyond compare?
Join us as we journey through Lent. There are so many offerings this year, on line, in person, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sunday morning. Offering online and in person. Journey with us. Journey to pay attention to your relationship with God, yourself, and those you value. Hope to see you on the path these next forty days.
Rev. Rachel+
