Ashes to Ashes Wednesday...

I found this new hymn on Sojourner's website today...

"O God of love, the fast you choose is not some great display.
It’s everything we gladly do to serve you day by day.
It’s not a moment set apart when we will mourn our sin;
For you require a change of heart— a change from what has been.
Lord, we confess we often sing that you are our delight,
Then we go shouting words that sting; we bicker and we fight.
Oppressing others for our gain, we put our interests first.
We overlook our neighbors’ pain while praying here in church.
You teach us what it means to be a church that worships you:
In setting captive people free, we praise you as you choose.
In sharing bread with hungry folk, bringing the homeless in,
And breaking every bitter yoke we worship you again.
God, bless us as we journey on to live in loving ways.
Then darkness will turn into dawn and gloom will turn to praise.
When justice is our offering, we also will be blest,
And we will know the fast we bring will be our very best."

I've often viewed the season of Lent as a time of "giving up," of sacrifice, of discipline...but in a negative way...of making myself suffer and endure.  I am tired of making this experience a negative one...and sometimes even a diet...yes, you know it's true.  Reading this hymn, I begin to focus on the great love of God...that inspires me to act in a way contrary to my "humanness."  Mourning and change are different...we can and will mourn many things...our sin, our loss, etc...but Lent is a time to change, to take action in the right direction, with the right motivation.  Darkness becomes light in this season of change...the goodness of God is unearthed as we sprout good deeds of love.

I also read an article about giving up Facebook for Lent...and the author said the following,


"How many times have you suffered "buyer’s remorse"’ after spending two hours on Facebook? You think to yourself, I could have made so much more of that time – I could have done something that mattered."

Now, my sentiments are not exactly the same...Facebook and I are on good, long-distance terms these days...but, I often chide myself after wasting time on things that I know are not making me better, and that honestly probably are making me worse.

So, all of these patchwork thoughts lead me to introspection...an evaluation of who I am, who God is, and how that translates into the actions that I take.

Ashes to ashes...they will quickly go away.

Harsh or Warm?

I know I've told you before that I drive into mountains every morning, but the mountains look different every day...some days I can barely see them because of fog...other mornings they are grey...still, other times they are snow-capped...and on sunny days they are the most brilliant blue.  Last week, I got the brilliant blue mountains on one of my morning commutes...and there was a twinge of yellow at the top outline.  The sun was coming up behind the mountains...and it created the most wonderful warmth for the sky and for the mountains. 

I had a few thoughts about it....

1.  It was breath-takingly beautiful...and most of creation is when I stop and look at it.

2.  Jesus is the light...the thought of God at times seems harsh to me...the idea of meeting God, of being in the presence of the Almighty...it's kind of scary...and I'm not ashamed to admit that...honesty, right?  God can seem harsh at times...reading accounts from the Old Testament and such...but Jesus brought forth a different kind of light...a mountain light you could say...or I will say.  :)  Jesus was light that warmed people...his presence brought peace, his touch gave healing, his teachings changed people's ideas, his actions caused people to drop everything and go with him...

3.  We are the mountains...we change all the time...we can be grey and dark...some days we can't even see ourselves because there's so much "fog" around...sometimes we get cold and even get a little snow on top.  But, when we choose to live with light breaking from us, we warm up the earth...and we are beauty for others to behold.  The structure of the mountain doesn't change...the light transforms the mountain.

4.  What color are you, O little mountain, today?  Even if there's a lot of fog or storm clouds are billowing...the light hasn't changed.  Seek the light.