Listen

Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation, so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise. You don’t want sacrifices. If I gave an entirely burned offering, you wouldn’t be pleased. A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God. You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.

Psalm 51:14-17

Think

Today is Ash Wednesday. Many Christians around the world will go to church today and have a priest or pastor apply ashes to their forehead in the shape of a cross. Before I knew of this tradition, I would try to wipe the smudges off of my friends’ faces! Christians do this to mark themselves as penitent and to publicly claim their faith in Christ. In biblical times, when a person died, their family would put ashes on their faces and bodies to symbolize their mourning the loss of a loved one. These days, you may see a person wear a black arm band over their shirt or jacket to let us know they are mourning a significant loss.

This Ash Wednesday symbol is to remind us that Lent is a journey – from today all the way to the cross on Good Friday. We are preparing to mourn and remember. I have learned that the journey will make the resurrection on Easter morning all the more beautiful. Whatever your situation today, walk the Lenten journey toward healing and comfort and resurrection.

David Burroughs

Pray

Deliver me, God. Open my lips so I can sing of your righteousness. Open my mouth so I can speak your praise. Walk with me God, as I strive to follow Jesus. Amen.

Go

May God give you grace never to sell yourself short; grace to risk something big for something good; grace to remember that the world is too dangerous for anything but truth and too small for anything but love.

William Sloane Coffin