February 21st, 2007

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. At Creator, like many Lutheran churches, we impose ash on our foreheads as a sign of repentance and to remember the shortness of our lives.

Pastor Dayle preaches that Ash Wednesday is a time to be who God is calling us to be. She also preached that the ash crosses are reminders of the cross that is invisible most of the time but truly are our tattoos from baptism.

There is a personal significance to this Ash Wednesday as we begin Lent. For me, the end of this particular Lenten journey will be a Holy Week that marks the one year anniversary of starting this blog. This isn't the most writing published for a project (I produced more writing page compared to page in a creative writing class), but it is certainly the longest period of time I stayed on a writing project.

It is also the longest time I have faithfully attended church each Sunday. Is all this something God calls us to do? Thinking along those lines can be strange. Mary feels when talk turns this way, the temptation to be too grandiose for our own good gets in the way and turns people off and can get in the way of our relationship with God. The focus can shift to why people are or are not attending worship other than ourselves. I tend to agree this focus is non-productive. The temptation to be grandiose is hardly happening tonight, however.

Tonight I think the reason for attending church to me is to affirm the central focus of our society is not moving us in the best spiritual direction.

Everyone leaves the service in silence this night with mortality weighing heavy on our minds.