Of course, before Ash Wednesday comes Mardi Gras -- a celebration of all the vanities of life.
Ash Wednesday is, for many of us, a painful and difficult awakening to the consequences of yesterday's indulgences -- like cleaning up the mess after last night's party.
As we consider this time of repentance, we're confronted with a simple question:
There's the dictionary definition:
That's sin in the abstract -- but what about the sin we confront daily in the world around us?
After watching video interviews on the nature of sin, we provided our own responses by writing (or drawing) on the wall:
Themes of selfishness, pride and pain -- destruction of self and others -- emerged.
As a tactile way of examining sin, we made our own Mardi Gras masks, representing the sins which hide us from each other and from God.
Removing our masks of sin and deceit, we enter the sanctuary:
Coming up to the cross, we find an invitation to walk in the light through confession and pardon.
The cold, hard reality of sin is that it isn't just an individual's response to outside pressures from unjust systems -- it's the darkness that dwells inside each of us, our fallen human nature clamoring for our own way and hardening our hearts to God and each other.
Our frozen hearts need to be warmed and turned into hearts of compassion.
After we all had time to visit the different stations, we gathered in the pews for a time of corporate worship, confession and pardon.Media vita in morte sumusThe imposition of ashes reminds us of our mortality -- we are weak and broken, but we are forgiven and redeemed, marked with the sign of the cross.
Quem quærimus adiutorem nisi te, Domine?
In the midst of life we are in death.
Whom can we seek as our helper but you, Lord?
Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,
but the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.
Psalm 103
Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
As for mortals, their days are like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.
