The Boldness of Lent

Admittedly, not all the church has accomplished through the ages has been helpful. Often, religious people have succumbed to foolishness or accepted whims that have faded with time. But something the church has done right is the season of Lent. Lent is the 40 days before the celebration of Easter. It is a time when Christians ponder and reflect on the work of Christ through redemption. In recent history, Evangelicals have been the ones who festoon and celebrate Christmas and Easter the loudest, but frequently look at Lent and sneer; something that has caused me to wonder.

Lent is the boldest of seasons in the church. Beginning with Ash Wednesday and the imposition of ashes on the forehead, it causes us to think of the church’s audacity to smear death in the face of those who belong to it. Sound strange? In her book, Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner, we have the spiritual biography of a young intellectual who slowly makes her way to faith. In her reflections on Ash Wednesday, she writes: "The imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday is nothing if not bold. The whole day is bold…the ashes are the boldest of all. A dark and undeniable slash across your forehead, a bold proclamation of death and resurrection all at once. You forget that it is on your forehead and you walk out of church, into the world, a living reminder that Christ died for us. The cross Miland (her minister) makes on my forehead on Ash Wednesday is no polite, small slice of silver dangling around my neck but easily slipped behind my blouse. The ash cross is bold, and undeniable."

The ashes have remained for centuries. Christianity could simply become another religion or inspiration, something we use to give us a good life. The church could forget the entire reason of our existence as sinners in wretched need of a Savior. At the heart of believing Christianity are sacramental acts or enactments of the cross. Jesus commanded that we continually break bread and pour wine. As a reminder, the church smears ashes on our foreheads, for the message of the gospel, is a message of salvation heralding we are as frail as withering grass and ultimately fallen, full of sin and that our only hope is in the cross. By his death and resurrection, Christ restores the path returning to God, and the reconciliation with the one who holds us in his palms.

" Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return," proclaim the ancient liturgical words, as the sign of the cross is applied to our foreheads. Wonder of wonder, the world has a great way of reminding me of that everyday. Age has made me take account of the flying years. Fading health makes me take notice. Our failures and the people around us are quick to point out our venerability. But when I see the ashes, I am reminded that God not only created me, but he also poured out his blood to redeem me. Yes, dust, but because of Christ’s work more valuable than all the treasures of heaven.

In the depth of my sin and my utter despair the gospel is the wind that fills my sails with hope. I suspect the reason for so much angst and ennui is because having lost the knowledge of our depravity and need of salvation, we proclaim any number of self-salvations. No other belief is so bold and daring to be honest with people. No other belief asserts our ruin unless help comes from heaven. All other religions offer a system of values that deceive into thinking we’re improving our lives and helping us save ourselves: do the grid, work the numbers, discipline ourselves, and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. No rest, no joy, no hope in that.

Only Christianity valiantly puts ashes on our foreheads and says remember, remember what we are. Remember, salvation is a gift and we are pardoned by the doings of another. Only Christianity presents us with rest, joy and hope. Rest in what Jesus has done for us. All else will lead to a nervous breakdown, because performance is never as good as it should be. What liberation of soul to know the celebration is not our accomplishments, but what Jesus accomplished for his people. Is it any wonder that Christianity has been a band of joyful beggars, misfits and failures? Ashes are a reminder but we only celebrate Jesus. No one is self-made and those who suffer are to be celebrated because they show us how rich and deep is the mercy of Christ, which reaches out not to people who can help themselves, but to all who have finally realized they can no longer help themselves.

Yes, Lent is a noble, brazen statement, an admission that if we would be helped at all, it must come at the humble admission of an utter, desperate need. Feel the ashes upon your head, trace the lines of the story back to a dead man hanging on a cross, anguished and afflicted, full of sorrow, and realize your regal exaltation to the highest place, safe forever in the hands of God.