Overstatement

Ash Wednesday is a tough day.

We ask you to consider your sins. We remind you of your mortality. We call you to repentance.

It’s not exactly fun. But it’s part of a process – a process that takes some time, requires some soul searching, demands we face some tough realities. But the process doesn’t stop there. It ends in new life, new possibilities, new hopes. It ends in the ultimate promises of our God, who never abandons us and always welcomes us home.

But you can’t get to the end without starting with ashes. Jesus began his ministry with a 40 day struggle in the desert. There he faced his demons and temptations, and discovered who he was and what he was made of. He learned the truth about himself. And once we learn the truth about ourselves, there is no power that can overcome us. We are ironically liberated by our awareness of our limitations. We come to terms with our fundamental humanity. Ashes mark us as mortal, less than God, limited, frail.

It is true that there is much goodness in each of us. It is also true that we have all fallen short of the glory for which we were intended. Ash Wednesday points us to both of these truths – it reminds us that we are worthy of God’s love – but it also reminds us that we are frail. The frailty is hard to face. But it is only conquered by facing it.

This Lent, I hope to take the steps I need to take to face myself – to honestly assess all that I am and all that I am not. I hope to better understand why I do some of the destructive things I do. And I hope to overcome one or two of my bad habits. Most of all, I hope to realize the love of God – a love that accepts my frailty and faults, while also calling me to be more than I presently am.