Ash Wednesday kicks off 40 days of Lent. A period of time in which Christians remember Christ's 40 days fasting in the desert enduring the temptation of Satan. The ashes we wear today are unique. These ashes are made from Palm branches, specifically from the previous Palm Sunday. These ashes are blessed and then placed on mass goers foreheads. The Pastor/Priest recites the words "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Or perhaps "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." Both are appropriate.
During Lent we remember our humanity. We recall our utter dependence on the Creator for our life. We draw close to the Holy Spirit in our weakness and we remember the love of a matchless God.
All of humanity understands the need for change in our lives, no matter our faith tradition. All religions have some form of fasting and season of change. For Christ followers we use this time of Lent to embody Christ, to breathe in the Holy Spirit and exhale love.
Our question for Lent should not be so much "what am I going to give up?" But instead, "what in me is going to change so that Christ might better flow through me and out of me to others?
