Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian calendar. Traditionally it is a time of penitence and fasting, reflecting the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness. Ash is often made by burning the previous year’s palm crosses. In a simple ceremony penitents are marked with the sign of the cross in ash on their foreheads, a reminder of the frailty of human life. ‘Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.’
The solemnity of this season comes, perhaps, at a time this year when we may be feeling a bit ‘down’ anyway and not in need of yet more reminders of the fragility of our mortal life. A long winter, a long lockdown, a strange way of living – it’s tempting to want to break free from all the restrictions – we may not want the additional discipline and rigour of Lenten fasting and abstinence.
But Lent is also a good time to remind ourselves that, despite the trials and tribulations of the current times, we are all loved and valued by God. Jesus’ time in the wilderness comes right after his baptism – that occasion when a voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved.. with whom I am well pleased.’ (You can read the story in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 3.)
God knows his Son very well – he knows he is ready to start out on his ministry. That ministry begins with a time spent in the desert – away from family, friends and home, subject to alien voices that don’t comfort but bring challenge and temptation.
‘My beloved’
But Jesus knows that he needs to hold on to the memory of the voice that strengthened him at his baptism. Each one of us goes through wilderness times – when our faith feels feeble, weak and unreliable. It may be a time when we need to do some hard heart-searching, seeking again those elements of our faith that enable and help us to live in this amazing world – even when that world feels odd and dislocated. It is a time for renewing our prayer life – and much of the time that will mean listening out for God rather than bombarding him with endless lists of requests and anxieties. God often come to us in the silence, in the wilderness, in the emptiness. We need those empty times so that our inner resources can be healed and restored, enabling us to start out again on the journey that God sends us.
And don’t forget – when the rains come and the wilderness blooms it can be an amazingly beautiful sight. Treasure those blooms…