Ash Wednesday

This Hobo marking means "Beware- bad dog" One might then ask, how does "bad dog" relate to Lent? It's use relates to the the past grimness of this day- a day when hard and grim fasting took place. Long ago, this day began forty days of serious penance. It included strict fasting and embracing the absence of all life's pleasures and enjoyments. While modern culture has tamed Lent, it still stands as a day of fasting and abstinence.
Traditionally Lent begins with the sign of the cross in ashes on your forehead. Many people, afraid of being told they have dirt on their face, immediately wash the ashes off their face once leaving their place of worship. In the process, they are also wiping away the solemness of their journey of reform...


So what would the next forty days be like if we were to keep this marking upon our face? I remember back in high school how it was "cool" to have this marking- and you would try to share it with others - not b/c of it's meaning, but b/c it made you stand out. What though would it be like if that excitement I (we) had back then were evident in our Christian faith? What if the excitement of sharing that marking were still upon me and I had that desire to instead share the message of Christ? What a difference that would make.

While I didn't even participate in an Ash Wednesday service this year (our church does not engage in this practice), the former question has weighed on my mind today as I began this journey. Though I won't be walking around with an outward sign on my forehead, I will attempt to carry it as outward as possible in all that I do in the next forty days...through study and conversation and such. I hope that although not visibly evident, my life will be a living witness of the message I carry inside and so deeply believe in.