Psalm 51:1-2
Stop.
Take a deep breath. Trace the sign of the cross on your forehead. Center yourself in God’s promise to love and forgive you.
Listen.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. – Psalm 51:1-2
Reflect.
Lent begins this week. Lent encompasses the forty days leading up to Easter, not counting the Sundays. (This is why the church calendar describes Sundays during Lent as Sundays in Lent, not Sundays of Lent.) The number forty carries great significance in scripture. In Genesis, rain fell for forty days and nights in the great flood. In Numbers, God’s people wandered in the wilderness for forty years. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus fasted in the desert for forty days before his great temptation. The number forty points us to times of waiting, watching, and wondering throughout the Bible.
The forty days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday, which is tomorrow. Because we historically spend Lent preparing to hear the news of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on Good Friday (and yes, the promise of new life on Easter Sunday), Ash Wednesday intentionally centers us in our mortality. We receive a cross of ashes on our foreheads as we hear the words: remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Typically, we will also hear words from Psalm 51 on Ash Wednesday. We’ll reflect on that psalm through our devotions this whole week. The psalm opens with an invitation for God’s mercy to wash us from our sins. It’s a stark reminder of the ways that our selfishness, anger, fear, and jealousy can ruin not only our relationships with others, but even with God.
Tomorrow, when you bear that black cross on your forehead, you might also feel the weight of judgement. It’s hard to avoid the reminder that our sins could only be remedied by Jesus’ death and resurrection. With a cross of ashes on our foreheads, we carry both a reminder of death and a promise of hope. At the end of that day, you’ll wash that mark off your head. When you do, think of the words of this psalm. May they invite you into repentance and self-awareness in the days to come.
Pray.
Have mercy on me, God. I know you love me. Your mercy removes the pain of all I’ve done wrong. May your love wash over me and cover me in hope to your glory and for the sake of my neighbor. Amen.
Carry On.
Write the words of these two verses on a post-it note and put it near your shower or sink, so you can see it any time you wash your face. Through Lent, let it remind you of that Ash Wednesday cross and the love of God that redeems you.