Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season of forty days (minus Sundays) during which we prepare ourselves for the events of Holy Week and Easter. We start the journey of Lent with confession, pardon, and the imposition of ashes, a reminder of our mortality. Though this can often feel like a serious service, Psalm 51:1 says, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.” We begin Lent with the reminder that God’s love is steadfast—it never fails. In words like those of Coldplay’s “Fix You,” God’s love is like a light that guides us home, ignites our bones, and fixes us, putting us back together for relationship with God and one another. As you listen to Coldplay’s “Fix You,” consider where you notice God’s love reaching out and guiding you home.

Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love! Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion! 2Wash me completely clean of my guilt; purify me from my sin! 3Because I know my wrongdoings, my sin is always right in front of me. 4I’ve sinned against you—you alone. I’ve committed evil in your sight. That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict, completely correct when you issue your judgment. 5Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places; you teach me wisdom in the most secret space. 7Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and celebration again; let the bones you crushed rejoice once more. 9Hide your face from my sins; wipe away all my guilty deeds! 10Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!11Please don’t throw me out of your presence; please don’t take your holy spirit away from me. 12Return the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways, and sinners will come back to you. 14Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation, so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness. 15Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise. 16You don’t want sacrifices. If I gave an entirely burned offering, you wouldn’t be pleased. 17A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God. You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed. - Psalm 51:1-17