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February 2012
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Dear Friends,
Ash
Wednesday and
Lent...what will you
take on?
By the end of
February Lent will
have begun, and for
the Christian it is
a season that has
much more to offer
than just the misery
of giving up
things!! The roots
of what we do in
Lent are ancient,
going way back even
to Old Testament
times. King David
asked God's
forgiveness with
three symbols of
penitence: putting
ashes on his head,
fasting and wearing
sackcloth.
Christians try to
make the six weeks
of Lent a special
season by three
similar activities.
They are powerful
symbols.
Recognising our
total dependence on
God - starting Lent
by being marked with
the sign of the
Cross;
Self-denial - giving
something up during
Lent, to remember
that Jesus give up
everything for us;
Simplification of
living - recognising
that we are too
dependent on
material things.
Our Services on Ash
Wednesday contain
this very old
Christian custom.
Churchgoers are
marked on the
forehead with a
cross of ashes as a
sign of penitence
and mortality. The
ashes are made by
burning palm crosses
from last year's
Palm Sunday. The ash
is sometimes mixed
with anointing oil.
Based on God's
sentence on Adam in
Genesis ch.3 v.19,
the priest marks
each worshipper on
the forehead, and
says,
Remember you are
dust and unto dust
you shall return
And may add,
Turn away from sin
and believe the
gospel.
As we stand before
the altar, the Cross
is traced on the
forehead exactly
where we were marked
at Baptism. It is a
reminder of all
those occasions when
we have failed to
live up to our
baptism and
confirmation
promises.
The use of anointing
oil reminds us of
the anointing in the
Holy Spirit that
took place at our
baptism, and that
only the power of
the Spirit can
transform our human
frailty.
The cross of ashes
symbolises the way
Jesus' sacrifice on
the cross replaces
the Old Testament
tradition of making
burnt offerings to
atone for sin. The
cross on the
believer's forehead
symbolises that
through Christ's
death and
resurrection, all
Christians can be
free from sin.
The ashes also
remind us that God
made the first human
being by breathing
life into dust, and
without God, we
human beings are
nothing more than
dust and ashes. It
is a timely reminder
that death comes to
everyone.
Some worshippers
leave church with
the mark still on
their forehead so
that they carry the
sign of the cross
out into the world.
Others leave with
the ashes washed off
as a sign that they
have been cleansed
of their sin.
Please take the
opportunity that
Lent offers to look
at your own life and
your response to the
freely given love of
Jesus. Join us at
one of our Ash
Wednesday Services
(22nd Feb 10am &
7.30pm,@ St Saviours)
and be renewed under
the sign of the
Cross.
With best wishes
Father Will
Hazlewood.
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