Beauty for Ashes

Ash Wednesday is not a tradition I grew up with. But this past week I received two small sweeps of ash on my forehead, at the Anglican chapel service at my college. As I went to dinner, and to class, I saw many marks on friends, classmates, teachers. Made from dust, we are the objects of God’s compassion (Psalm 103:13-14), and yet we return to dust, when God withholds the breath of life He has given, (Psalm 104:29). This seemed especially poignant this week, as I received news of my dear friend Judith’s fatal car accident, along with her unborn daughter. I was shocked by the jarringness of death - at once common within our human experience, yet so profoundly against its grain.

I have been reminded that Ash Wednesday is in anticipation of Easter, and that those marks of ash on my forehead formed a cross. God assumes our humanness in Jesus, even our death, bringing us through to life. During His earthly life, Jesus read from Isaiah about the good news He proclaimed. The passage continues by declaring coming consolation, to give “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning” (Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah 61:3). I confess this beauty and joy seem quite distant, as I still mourn. Yet, in Jesus I can hope for them, for in Him there is life that can never be extinguished, even in the midst of ashes. He has given His life to Judith, a life that she joyfully proclaimed, and His beauty that she exemplified. I trust that she is enjoying His surpassing joy and beauty, even today.

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Image credits:

a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/27340278@N03/49589247193/">Catholic Church (England and Wales)</a> Flickr via <a href="http://compfight.com">Compfight</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a