Lent begins - Ash Wednesday

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"

Experiencing the liturgy of Ash Wednesday as a parishioner at Christ Episcopal Church here in Sparta was remarkable. For the past 26 years I have been "doing" the liturgy as a priest. It was hard during those years not to focus on the pressure of Lent - 40 days of intense ministry and preparation. As I sat this morning looking at the church dressed in penitential purple I was able to see myself as a part of a community who will be walking the way of the cross together. I am in the midst of a great drama. The drama is simple: we walk together. When the person beside me gets tired or discouraged, I can offer my hand or a word of encouragement. When I stumble, someone will catch me.

Ive been reading the novel, The Sinner, by Tess Gerritsen. It is about a murder that occurs in a convent. The pathologist is watching from a window as the crime scene technicians unload their equipment at the convent. It is snowing and there is ice on the ground. "One of the techs suddenly slid across the stones, arms flung out like a skater as he struggled to stay upright. We're all struggling to stay upright, she thought. Resisting the pull of temptation, just as we fight the pull of gravity. And when we finally fall, it's always such a surprise." This is such a great description of our human condition and the need for community. There I am lying on the ground, shocked and scared by my fall - I knew I was walking on ice, but falling was still such a surprise! In the midst of my misery a hand reaches out to me and helps me regain my balance. I know I am human, but I continue to try to try to stay upright even as I expose myself to those slippery places. How can any of us ever make it without each other!? How can we walk this drama of Lent without our sisters and brothers to help us?

And so the invitation to "keep a holy Lent" comes with the words "assist us with thy grace" ( in Rite I Prayer of Thanksgiving). And here is the most amazing thing about it all - we are meant to be "instruments of God's grace" in this holy drama.