Many traditions and churches, including evangelical and some Southern Baptist churches, observe Ash Wednesday today - the beginning of the Lenten season. We do not formally observe this in our church, but I think we could be informed in a way that is meaningful to our personal worship leading up to Easter, which in turn would prepare us for more meaningful corporate worship during these six weeks leading up to the anniversary of our Savior's death.
For many this is a time set aside as a special season of fasting, for some abstinence of something chosen that would tend to draw the heart from God - fasting, reflection and repentance with a full focus on all that has been accomplished for us in the death and resurrection of our Lord in a season of prayer. In the early church some would sprinkle ashes on their heads the first day of lent as a token of humility and sorrow for sin. Thus the first day of lent was called Ash Wednesday.
The main purpose was seen as a time to deepen our walk with the Lord, purifying the heart from sin and uniting us closer to our Savior in devotion. It corresponds to the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness.
The prayer and spiritual discipline of the Lenten season should serve us by sustaining and refreshing the reality that we are in Christ and reminding us that we belong to one another in Christ. As we approach Easter, great contrasts are awakened in us as we read God's Word and pray in light of the paradox of death and resurrection. This journey to Easter can be a meaningful time in our walk as we reflect on all that leads us to the contemplation of His death, the cross and all its meaning, along with celebration of the resurrection. We will remember during this time and season . . . that Joy Comes in the Morning! mjm
