All are mortal

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, takes its name from the brief ceremony during the Eucharist of the day in which worshippers are marked on the forehead with ash, prepared traditionally by burning palm leaf crosses retained from last year's Palm Sunday Eucharist. 

"Remember that you are but dust. From dust you came and to dust you will return." says the priest to each person, quoting Genesis 3:19. The story of the Fall gives an account of all the world's woes and misfortunes as an outcome of the disobedience of the primal couple Adam and Eve. They are told "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." (Genesis 2:17)

Before acquiring knowledge, the couple are innocently unconscious of the passage of time and that endings follow beginnings. The moment comes when they learn they are creatures, made of the same basic material as everything else in the universe and sharing the same ultimate destiny. Only God is over and beyond the material universe, not dependent upon it to exist, free of all material contraints. Human beings play at pretending there are no limits, but even if ageing can be deferred a while, mortality cannot be escaped and must be reckoned with.

The primal couple feel shame at being found out in defiance of their creator, and experience vulnerability and fear at the unknown prospect of death. These feelings are part of passing from infancy to adulthood shared by humankind. They can act as driving forces for human action, for good or for ill.

The Lenten journey is taken in the light of divine forgiveness. It can enable us to deal with the painful sense of shame, vulnerability and mortal fear, not by avoidance, but by learning what they have to tell us about ourselves in relation to God.

The imposition of ashes challenges any illusions we may have about our human capabilities, but it is not the final word. Rather it is the first serious word in the process of coming to our senses and responding to God's appeal to return to him. Sure, humans are not immortal, but being reconciled to God opens a way to life in and with him that is abundant and eternal, which mortality cannot take away. 'Turn from your sin and be reconciled with God' is the appeal to conscience and free spirit accompanying this reminder of mortality.

Two of the three readings in the Liturgy of this day remind us that we are not playing a game with God, by asking for forgiveness after expressing sorrow for the offence we have given others, unless we change our ways, and renounce the attitudes and actions that lead us into sin. We cannot do this unaided. Admitting our need to God in penitential prayer invites him to heal us from the inner depths of our being.

We can make the words of scripture our own in crying for help. Repeated slowly, often, and with feeling, they can anchor us in humility as we reach out and seek the source of our being.

'O God make speed to save us, O Lord make haste to help us' (Psalm 40:13)
'Make me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me' (Psalm 51:10)
'God have mercy upon me a sinner"  (Luke 8:13)
'Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief' (Mark 9:24)
'Lord to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life' (John 6:68)
   

Honest preparation

Shrove Tuesday takes its name from the verb 'to shrive', describing the action of examining one's conscience and admitting truthfully without excuses before God, in a the company of a priest, all those things which trouble the heart are are considered wrong and sinful. The objective of the exercise is to hear the declaration of God's forgiveness from the priest, and be offered help and guidance to put one's life right in a moral and spiritual way that brings peace and restores confidence.

It's a day for diagnosis of spiritual ailments, for reassurance that healing and growth are possible, no matter how catastrophically we may believe we have failed. It's an important preparation for the penitential journey of Lent, in which sorrow and regret for the past are overcome by the struggle to overcome faults and errors that lead to estrangement from God. 

It's also a day to consider making amends, giving apologies to others affected by one's wrong-doing, making steps towards reconciliation, where this is needed. It could take a long time to complete this initiative, but recognising the need and desiring to act upon it are the first step. It's at the heart of Jesus' teaching: 
 
"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." (Matt 5:23-24)

"As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison." (Luke 12:58)
 
Reconciliation with God and with one another is an appeal made with vigorous passion in the writings of St Paul. In his second letter to the Corinthians  he says
 
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor 5:18) and 

"We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." (2 Cor 5:20).

We have to start by honestly recognising the state we're in and the need we have to make a fresh start with God.

Penitence is an expression of gratitude a result of receiving unconditional forgiveness, from the One who 'knows of what we are made' (Psalm 103:14)

Sin is more than the symptomatic thoughts, words and deeds that cause suffering, it is the very evil of suffering itself from which God lovingly longs to free his wounded, straying children. God's appeal reaches out to humankind from heart of scripture, likewise his promise  of compassion


"I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel's mourners" (Isaiah 57:18)

"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them." (Hosea 14:4)

Shrove Tuesday is traditionally the climax of carnival celebrations, one last celebration of indulgence before the austerities of Lenten self'denial are imposed. It's a way of concealing the true nature of the day, and it's no surprise that many carnival goers wear masks. Is this to conceal inner grief and sorrow, and hide genuine intentions? 

It's doubtful all that many people look beyond party time while it's happening, to the serious matter of accountability to God for their actions. It's not unusual to hide inner turmoil and torment behind a cheerful face, for fear of having to explain to enquirers that something's wrong. This behaviour is so common that it was written in to one of the world's earliest explanations of why human beings feel bad about things they don't get right.

"They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." (Genesis 3:8-9)

But, as St John remainds us in his first epistle

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)