February 19 – “Ash Wednesday Wisdom”

We had a really good Ash Wednesday service last night.  I never know how that is going to pan out.  Folks with an evangelical tradition behind them have no idea what any of the symbolism means, so I created a teaching-type communion service to start things off, and then went from there to a Litany style Ash Wednesday administration of ashes.  The teaching covered the history and development of Lent, Mardi Gras, and Ash Wednesday in the life of the early church, and brought it up to where we see it today.  It is always a lot of fun to see people’s faces light up when they reach one of those “oh, so that’s why …” kind of moments.  Does my heart good. 

We had some special guests as well.  One guy told me he has been in Jamaica Beach for about four months after retiring from the police force in the Dallas area.  He now works for the Port Police and as the low man on the totem pole, he has to work every Sunday.  He seemed to enjoy the service, though.  We also had some folks from the Jamaica Beach Volunteer Fire Department.  Their training chief canceled training so whoever wanted to attend the service could come.  And after the service one of them even stepped up and put ashes on my forehead.  He asked why I didn’t have any, and I told him that it was because I was just a normal guy like him so I needed someone to help me out.  He joined me by the bowl and very carefully formed a cross on my head and read the words from the handout.  I really appreciated his effort in doing that for me.  They even took some photos with me, but I can’t imagine why that would be helpful to anyone. 

Of course my favorite part of the service involved a youngster.  I like to do interactive teaching, so when I ask a question the folks know it is OK to call out an answer.  My opening question of the evening was simply, “What is Lent?”  Seemed an easy enough gauge of how much information the group already had.  The first hand up was young Matt.  His Mom oh, so gently tried to discourage him, but it was too late.  I had already seen the movement, so I asked him point blank what his answer would be.  Obediently, he looked to Mom first and received her approval before continuing.  Now all I heard was, “You see it on the floor sometimes,” before Mom’s hand went to her forehead in anguish.  But I understood perfectly, and obviously so did many others in the room, as many words of agreement and clarification followed from the adults.  “That’s right.  It’s in the dryer.”  “You know, that fuzzy stuff.”  “It shows up in your pockets, too.”  Yes, I was rapidly losing control.  But, you know what?  I have to say, Matt’s answer was not wrong by any means.  Not many people, especially in the South, are adept at the phonics nuances between the sound of a short “e”- like in “wet” - and that of a short “i” – like in “fish.”  I was just proud that he felt like he could speak up and be involved in the discussion.  I did see his Mom’s FaceBook post later that night.  Seems that his response has inspired her to new heights.  She writes that they will be studying the history of Lent for the next 40 days.  Now.  After you finish chuckling … what did YOU get out of Ash Wednesday?

Ephesians 3:14-16 says, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being”

Father, thank you for Matt and his hunger for knowledge and his desire to be a participator in the world around him.  Bless that in his life.  Thank you for his Mom, too.  It’s obvious she has been doing something right.  Bring her great happiness as well.  Amen.