Time and Time Again
It is time to dig out those jackets as the weather has finally begun to feel a bit like winter in Houston. I always find joy in the shifting of the seasons. When we experience a Houston cold snap, I am nostalgic of long ago bundled up experiences and I get excited about what lay ahead. I find the same is true of liturgical seasons. The green vestments which were so exciting to don in early January have become normalized and as Korey and I pulled out the purple Lenten paraments I was reminded of the many past Ash Wednesdays of my faith journey. Demarcation creates awareness. This will be the last first time we will do something virtually as a church community since we transitioned to virtual worship a few weeks into Lent last year.
The very moment of Ash Wednesday is meant to remind us of time. The beginning of Lent brings into focus the finiteness of our time here with the words “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” But Ash Wednesday also instills a sense of majesty and infinity as we journey toward the culmination of the Triduum (Good Friday through Easter) which raises all of us in the promise of ongoing life in Christ. Lent is a journey of deepening awareness of not only the former, but also our dependance on God for the latter.
My most poignant memory of Ash Wednesday occurred when I journeyed to New York City with my college chaplain in the spring of 1999 to visit the General Theological Seminary. One of the students who served as seminarian at Trinity Episcopal Church on Wall Street suggested we take the subway with her to Trinity for the imposition of ashes and then walk a little way to go to the top of the World Trade Center. The confluence of being in that space and later seeing of how quickly so much can change is something I ponder every year as we begin our Lenten journey together.
I suppose I will also always think of the Ash Wednesday observed in the midst of this pandemic. Last year at about this time, we had very little idea of how much would change in our world in the coming months. I pray that the season ahead will be a season in which we are moved more deeply into an awareness of our dependance on our loving God who promises that the love of God is steadfast and certain even in the midst of this swiftly varying world. It is God’s good desire for us to always have this promise and comfort.
We love you and God loves you.