An Ash Wednesday Reflection

February 17, 2021

Well here we are at Ash Wednesday.

• It follows right after Transfiguration Sunday, a holy encounter in which we saw a glorious scene of light and promise, and a realization that life holds more than we can see with our eyes

• Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the forty days of Lent. We are reminded that the biblical number forty symbolically represents waiting, wilderness and wandering – whether it be forty days of rain in the story of the flood, forty days of the temptation of Jesus, forty years of desert deprivation and uncertainty for the Israelites, and even 40 weeks of pregnancy.

All these times are about a necessary emptying, so we can become receptive to the new life with which God seeks to fill us.

Ash Wednesday and Lent are times when we

give our hearts to God and pray:

“Create in me a clean heart O God

and put a new Spirit within me” (Psalm 51: 10)

A New Spirit Within Me

Focus on gratitude--- give up complaining.

Become an optimist--- give up pessimism.

Think kindly thoughts--- give up harsh judgments.

Trust in the Lord--- give up worry.

Be full of hope--- give up discouragement.

Turn to forgiveness--- give up bitterness.

Return good for evil--- give up hatred.

Be positive--- give up negativism.

Be more patient--- give up anger.

Become more mature--- give up pettiness.

Enjoy the beauty that is all around you--- give up gloom.

Pray for confidence--- give up jealousy.

Control your tongue--- give up gossiping.

Accept forgiveness and love--- give up guilt.

Live a life of promise and joy—give up ways that hold you down and devalue your life

Go, be wild in the Spirit!

Wild with love,

wild with compassion,

wild with mercy,

wild with forgiveness,

wild with kindness,

wild with the excitement of life.

Go, be wild in the Spirit!

Wild with love,

wild with compassion,

wild with mercy,

wild with forgiveness,

wild with kindness,

wild with the excitement of life.

Confession and Reflection

Merciful God,

I come to you at this time of reflection and renewal,

ready to make new commitments in faith,

ready to find the real treasure in my life,

I bring you burdens and sins that weigh me down,

I bring you treasures that I often overlook

And I open my heart to you, asking for forgiveness, encouragement, guidance

through Christ and the work of the Spirit.

Prayer (as in the song, “Change My Heart O God” )

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

You are the potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You. Amen