A young woman looked at me quizzically. "I've seen a lot of people with those marks on their forehead today," she asked. "Is it some kind of sorority hazing thing?" 

Christian History magazine has a nice piece on the history of Ash Wednesday.  My own personal take on Ash Wednesday (and the church year in general) is that such practices are helpful when filled with meaning.  It’s the lack of understanding and personal appropriation that leads to dead ritual.

Such practices can be powerful instruments of the Spirit when done with a true desire to draw near to God in surrender.

Roman Catholics speak of “sacramentals” – things that are done to increase our awareness of God’s reality, objects used as means of connecting us to God.  Again when done for the purpose of drawing near to God these practices and material objects can become points of contact with the divine.

In the Bible we read of  handkerchiefs and aprons that became such points of contact (Acts 19:11-12), and the biblical book of James speaks of anointing people with oil in prayer in order to connect with God’s healing power (James 5:14).

Whether you’re accustomed to observing Ash Wednesday or not, this time of year is a great time to draw near to God in expectancy.  The natural changes taking place around us in the creation with the nearing of Spring naturally awaken in us a desire for the fresh and the new.

Why not seek God for a new Pentecost for your life?  Why not seek a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit by forsaking anything that might be hindering you from free and full communication with God?  Why not cultivate a docility to God’s Spirit, becoming mindful to the ways God may be speaking to you today.

God is not the God of the dead but of the living.  He’s alive and well and longs to speak to us today.  Why not seek the Lord while he may be found?   

Learn more about Salem Church of Darmstadt online: www.salemdarmstadt.org