WATCHWORD:
Ash Wednesday
Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7
Ash Wednesday comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The practice includes the wearing of ashes on the forehead. The ashes symbolize the dust from which God made us. As the ashes are applied to a person’s forehead, these words are traditionally spoken: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Ash Wednesday is one of the most important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer, and concludes with Palm Sunday.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:2-3
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. 1 Corinthians 6:19
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18.
Meditation:
Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina? What is that? First of all, the phrase is Latin. You can probably figure this out, especially if you have any Catholic leanings. Divina would be divine or Holy. Lectio looks like the word lectionary, or reading of the Word. So, Lectio Divina means “divine reading”, or Holy Reading in Latin. It is actually more than a simple reading, it’s a meditative way of reading the Bible in which we let go of our own agendas and open ourselves to what God is saying to us.
Do you have habits? Not so good habits? Those who know me well, know I have habits, some that are not so good. I don’t drink enough water, I don’t exercise and I don’t get enough sleep, just to name three. On the good side, I’ve never killed anyone, and I haven’t stolen since I got over that when I was eight. All of which you might say, “So what?” Besides, what does that have to do with Lectio Divina?
Maybe you don’t think drinking water, exercising and sleeping well are part of being an active Christian. I beg to differ with you. Have you not heard that our body is the Temple of the Lord? Keeping our temple of the Lord ship-shape is a component of serving the Lord. I’ll bet you agree with that.
So, the temple of the Lord that I have been assigned responsibility for, is in need of some maintenance and probably some cleaning. The fact is that the Lord has graced me with long life, so I must’ve kept the temple in some state of repair along the way.
We often get down on ourselves, don’t we? Maybe even wondering if God can love us. Haunted by moments in the past that weren’t exactly times to be proud of. I love the movie, Sound of Music. There is a song, “Something Good”, in the sound track that we all should call to mind in those down times”
Perhaps I had a wicked childhood
Perhaps I had a miserable youth
But somewhere in my wicked, miserable past
There must have been a moment of truth
Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing ever could
So somewhere in my youth or childhood
I must have done something good
Our Lord sees the “something good” we have done along the roads of our lives. Those “not very goods” will not be held against us when we bring them to the Lord. I may be reaching to get my point across, but the truth is that God loves us, His Son died for us to cleanse us. Our gratitude for this amazing gift should repeatedly lead us back to His Word, not just to read, but to digest, to think about, even to talk to God in those quiet times of meditation. Lectio Divina, right there in your own space.
There are two more Latin terms that apply here — Meditatio. I know, it looks incomplete, but it is exactly what it looks like, meditation. The meaning here is to pause and consider what you have just read of God’s Word. The caution is, don’t rush through the reading, give the reading a chance to speak to you.
The other term is Orotio. This is a little more obscure. It is a bit like a conversation. Orotio means to talk with God, your prayer and His response. I think our Lord likes the idea of a casual conversation, starting with praise: I love you Lord. Expressions of gratitude. What a good night’s sleep you gave me to prepare me for whatever you have laid out for me today. Lord, I love the sun coming through my window. Thank you. Unhurried, casual conversation with the Almighty.
One more point. Do you recall time when you were reading scripture, probably in the Psalms, and you came across the word Selah? This is a word that has different meanings depending on context. Some footnotes call it a musical term, while another, the one I relate to, is “to pause in reading and listen”. What does your heart tell you? What is the Spirit within saying to you? Selah appears 74 times in the Bible, mostly in Psalms, but a few times in Habakkuk. Sometimes it appears in a Psalm that is a Song, thus the musical term. Sometimes in passages of confession and prayer, thus to pause and listen. This is when we open ourselves to what God is communicating. Amen.
A Prayer for Ash Wednesday:
Lord, Holy One, have mercy on us. We confess our sins to you. We have fallen short of your glory and without your mercy and grace, we would be dust. We repent now, Lord, as we enter into this Lenten season, be near to us. Help us, by your Holy Spirit, to feel right conviction and repentance for our sin. Help us, by your Spirit, to have the strength to overcome the enemy.
Thank you, Lord, that Easter is coming! Death has no sting, no victory, because of Jesus! Glory and honor and praise to His name! Thank you for rescuing us. Help us keep both the weight and the joy of this season in our hearts and we move through the next several weeks. Help us bear the good fruit of your Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
