ASH WEDNESDAY,  FEBRUARY 25

Psalm 71:1,3  In you, O Lord, I take refuge; Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

Psalm 13:1,3  How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?  Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!

Ash Wednesday is the doorway to Lent.  We mark it with somber words and a dark slash of ashes, as if to jolt ourselves into the knowledge that this is a new season.  Ash Wednesday begins our season of repentance and preparation for Easter.  Lent is our annual spiritual housecleaning, a time to weed out the habits that keep us separated from God, to repent of the sins that we’ve let build up, to take down the curtains of our blind spots and let God’s light in again.  We’re cleaning out old habits and patterns to make new room in our souls’ closets for new gifts of God’s grace – cleaning out our spiritual junk to make room for the new on Easter. 

Cleaning is most satisfying when it’s done, but Lent allows us to do a little at a time, until the job is complete and there’s room for Easter.  Each day offers a new chance to make room in our lives, habits, calendars and souls for God.

This Lent our worship will be guided by the Psalms, which give voice to the meetings between God and the ordinary, unnamed people in the Bible.  There are Psalms of joy and anger, praise and bewilderment, and every other possible feeling about God.  This Lent, the voices of the Psalms will be our voices, as we use them for worship.

The Psalms give us the freedom to ask God “why?” or to be angry with God when things seem to go badly.  The Psalms of lament give voice to sorrow, and the sense that life is falling apart.  The Psalms speak our faith when it falters, and call us back to God. 

As we move into Lent, I invite you to get out your spiritual rakes and brooms, hoses and mops, and to clear out all that keeps us away from God.  Pile it up at the curb, and let the trash people take it away.  You’ll be thrilled at the room you can create for new things. 

Prayer:  O God, be with us this Lent, as we make room again for Easter.  Cleanse us from anxiety, worry, regret and mistakes, and prepare our hearts for you.  Amen.

Mary Austin