Shmootz on Foreheads

Chances are you’ll see a bunch of folks walking around with shmootz 

on their foreheads this Wednesday.

I’ve been asked over the years, Pastor: Where can I find 'Ash Wednesday' in the Bible? My answer: You can’t, it’s not there. Crickets. My reply coupled with their silence is almost like permission not to participate in Ash Wednesday. 

However, I do share this: Ashes are spoken of in Biblical writings. They often  include some reference to : Repentance & Mortality, maybe siamese-twins - the dual themes of Ash Wednesday. They speak of harsh realities: contrition and death. Uncomfortable topics for most of us.  

Lent is the journey, the story, of Jesus’ trek to the cross. It’s the forty days of preparation, a time to recall, retell and relive not only the Jesus story, but our own story too. 

Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season are both Biblical and spiritual practices. So perhaps on this first day of Lent, as we begin this intentional season of reflection and preparation, we as CS Lewis wrote: “…bring all of us [to] … reflection so we might stare deeply in the face of our Messiah and be changed, broken and redeemed…”  #pkes  #MinM