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Weekly Devotional

February 23, 2009

God’s Peace be with you all.

Esther 4:1  When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry;

Jeremiah 6:26  O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

Judith 4:11  ¹¹ And all the men and women of Israel, and their children, living at Jerusalem, prostrated themselves before the temple and put ashes on their heads and spread out their sackcloth before the Lord.

Judith 9:1a  Then Judith fell upon her face, and put ashes on her head.

1 Maccabees 3:47   ⁴⁷ They fasted that day, put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on their heads, and rent their clothes.

4 Esdras 9:38  When I said these things in my heart, I lifted up my eyes and saw a woman on my right, and behold, she was mourning and weeping with a loud voice, and was deeply grieved at heart, and her clothes were rent, and there were ashes on her head.

This week we begin our journey through Lent toward the cross.  We begin by celebrating on Tuesday evening, and then doing the opposite on Wednesday evening.  Lent is a time for fasting, prayers, and remembering the agony and pain that our Lord suffered for our sake.

            As you can see from the above Bible verses, putting ashes on one’s head has been a symbol of mourning for a long time.  It is one of the many traditions that have survived over the thousands of years that people have been worshiping God.  It is a sign of humility, penance, and humbleness.  Often the ashes on our heads get confused with the practice of fasting that (some) people follow during Lent.  However, the ash cross that we receive on our heads is more of a sign of our sinfulness and our mortality.

            I hope that all of you can join us for our celebration and service this week.  I also encourage you to reflect on your own spiritual discipline during this upcoming Lenten season.  While some people decide to give something up (fast), I encourage you to add something.  Perhaps this means reading your Bible more, being more active at church, helping in the community in some way, or giving more to the food pantry.   Adding something to your spiritual discipline can be very rewarding for you as we journey together toward the cross.

In our prayers this week: 

Ann, Doris and her mom, Joseph, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Norm

Pastor Judson