Ash Wednesday at the Mark Andrew PopeCast
February 25, 2009
Today, Christians will have ashes imposed upon their foreheads in Ash Wednesday services held around the world. It is a holy day, this first day of Lent. And an important start to keeping Lent holy.
This is a day in which we recall how fleeting the nature of this life is. The ashes themselves are the burned remains of the palms used in last year’s Palm Sunday service. We recall with great joy Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. In chronological terms, it was but a week before his crucifixion. How quickly things change. How quickly our earthly joys turn to ashes.
“You are but dust, and to dust you shall return.”
The only permanence in this life or the after-life is the sacred. It is in acknowledging our transitory nature in this world, that we come to Ash Wednesday beginning a season of penitence.
I wish you a most holy Lent. And whatever you do…
Don’t Give Up This Podcast for LENT!!!
Seriously! Don’t! This week we’re talking about the sometimes under-observed time of Lent. As we approach Ash Wednesday and the following 40-ish days until Easter, Aron and Mark turn their attention to a part of the church year that prepares us for the foundation of the Christian faith – the death and resurrection of Christ. What is Lent? What Lent isn’t. What Lent can and should be…
