The churches were crowded yesterday for Ash Wednesday. And not just the Catholic churches. Even a lot of Protestant churches who usually don’t make a big deal about Lent and about Ash Wednesday are starting to establish traditions for this holy season. (And I can say that honestly having grown up Protestant myself – in the United Methodist Church and in the United Church of Christ.) The big Protestant mega-church in Tupelo started giving out ashes several years ago, contacting the Catholic Church in Tupelo where I was pastor, asking us if we would sell them ashes when their ashes failed to reach them in the mail before Ash Wednesday.
Yet, it is not about getting that smudge of ash on our foreheads in public that matters. It is about what we do about our Lenten journey, how we meet God in that reality. We priests usually have many different masses on Ash Wednesday. Most of the Catholic faithful are really wanting to make something of their Lenten journey, to have it influence their overall journey of faith. Jesus tells us today in the Gospel to deny ourselves and take up our crosses if we want to follow him. In the egoism and narcissism of our modern world, many wouldn’t think that they would find fulfillment or salvation in denying themselves and taking up a cross, but that is what exactly Jesus wants us to do. That is one of the places we are called to seek God. So, as we start our Lenten journey this week, let us really think about where we are to seek God on our Lenten journey. Let us try to recognize the cross that we are called to carry as a part of our Lenten as well. Some of what we will find might surprise us.
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