What does Lent Mean to You?

Ash Wednesday Service February 22, 2023 Introduction Call to Worship Hymn Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days UMH 269 Opening Sentences Scripture Joel 2:1-2,12-17 Reflection - What Does Lent Mean to You One of my Lenten devotional is called Lent in Plain Sight- Finding the gospel in plain sight. It is by Jill Duffield. She challenges us to look at ordinary things in life, like a stone, a cross, a jewel in order to find God and some key themes of lent. Her theme for the first week of lent is dust. Hopefully you wont see a lot of it in the sanctuary. But we have all seen dust. When we think of dust, we think of it as this useless pointless powder that is a nuisance and collects everywhere. We would not place any value on the dust around us. We would not think of putting it in the same category as gold and silver, but in reality it is a similar substance, just in a much smaller quantity. Today on Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that we too are made of the same substance as dust and ash. The book of Genesis says that God formed the first man out of dust – and then breathed life into him. I would imagine that when your are dusting you are not thinking of all of the magical things that come from dust. Well, the author of lent in plain sight reminds us of all of the wonderful things that come from dust. Her devotions for the first week are about dust. On Ash Wednesday – she remembers all of those in her life who have passed on – once they were flesh and blood, and today they are just ashes. I still have my mother’s ashes in an urn that we plan to bury with my sister. But I also asked the funeral director to put some of them aside in a smaller urn which I keep on my nightstand. My sister was born and raised and buried in Illinois. When I die, I plan to be buried in Arkansas with my grandmother. I have told my son to make sure that the smaller urn is buried with me there. The death of a loved reminds us that from dust we come and to dust we all shall return one day. We say that on Ash Wednesday to remind us to always be humble, down to earth. It reminds us to keep in touch with our creator. We are also fearfully and wonderfully made. Today as we think of dust – we remember those who poured into us who are no longer with us. We remember ourselves and our lives. We remember that in the midst of a busy life, we need to stop and return to God. We need to remember who and whose we are. Dust is everywhere – inside our homes, flying around in the air, outside, even on the ground. – today, we even put it on our forheads. Wherever we see dust – the presence of God is there in the dust. Dust is ordinary and yet so special. Dust in invaluable, and yet it is priceless. Dust is useless to us, and yet it is magical. One of my sermon starters suggested that I pass out flower bulbs to everyone to remind us of the promise of lent. You were supposed to plant them in dust I mean dirt in order to watch them grow. Dollar General closed for a delivery just as I got there. And it is probably a little too early for bulbs to be ready for planting. – so I bought these bulbs that I purchased for valentines day – they were just bulbs when I bought them, on Sunday only one had bloomed – today they have all bloomed, and are over the top of he vase. Normally, we plant bulbs in dirt. And the dirt has the magical ability to help the bulbs to grow. In a few weeks, months – the earth will be full of plants that grow and nurture us and give us a sense of beauty. Dust can produce some wonderful things. From dust you come and to dust you shall return. These tulips remind us of the gift of resurrection – new life, new understanding, a new way of doing things. I also bought this green plant, because the soil was so dark – and the best part about it – its fake, so it doesn’t get all over your hands. Lent is a time to get in touch with the power of dust. It is time for us to clear out the weeds that have started to grow in our faith. It is time to get in touch with our creator and remember our sense of purpose. It is time to have hope – hope in the promise of restoration. Time to remember that from dust you come and to dust you will return. There are a lot of cool things that come from dust. I end with the words of this Ash Wednesday prayer on dust – Lod God, giver of our every breath, as we begin our Lenten journey, send your holy spirit to blow the dust off whatever in our around us needs new life. Remind us of our limits so that we will once again experience your limitless power. May the ashes on our forehead prompt us to live our lives in the shape of the cross so that even when the ashes have been washed away, others will see in us the face of Christ. Amen. Invitation to the observance of a holy lent Imposition of Ashes Responsive Prayer The Lord’s Prayer Hymn - Hymn of Promise UMH 707 Benediction Litany of Penitence Invitation to the Observance of Holy Lent Imposition of Ashes Responsive Prayer Lord’s Prayer Hymn - Hymn of Promise UMH 707 Benediction