Ash Wednesday, like Good Friday, is a time to reflect on the reality, “I am a sinner.”
Not all churches observe Ash Wednesday, which begins Lent - the penitential season before Resurrection Sunday. I have no problem with churches not observing Lent. There are other ways to recall the themes of sin and salvation.
Ash Wednesday and Lent are what Lutherans call “adiaphora,” non-essential. However, Ash Wednesday and Lent are useful as they require us to think about sin, the Fall in Genesis Three, and the need for God to provide a remedy if we are to spend eternity with Him.
Nowadays, talking about sin is out of date. We want to talk about mistakes. Is sin a mistake? I suppose, but only saying we make mistakes downplays the sin problem.
What is sin? There are many images for sin in the Bible. Sometimes sin is an archery term referring to “missing the mark” as in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned (missed the mark) and fall short of the glory of God.” Other times sin is a “debt” or “trespass” as in different renderings of the Lord’s Prayer. Sin can be intentional or unintentional. Sin can be something we think or do, or fail to think and do. Sin is a moral transgression contrary to the moral perfection of a holy morally perfect God. Sin grows from the rebellion of the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden.
What we earn from sin is death. Romans 6:23 says the “wages of sin is death.” Fortunately, Paul does not stop there, “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In some ways Lent, which begins Ash Wednesday, is similar to a “revival service.” We see our need. We see we have nothing to offer to help save ourselves. We see the wonder of God’s provision in Christ’s Substitutionary Death on Good Friday. We stand in awe at Jesus’ triumph over death on Resurrection Sunday. We respond in faith, trusting that through Christ, as Luther says, “that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.”
(Editor’s Note: This column is written by a different Littlefield pastor for the Leader-News each week. The columns are published on this page on Wednesdays.)