Wednesday 18. February 2015
Ash Wednesday
If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalm 130,3-8)
Ash Wednesday begins us on the path of Lent and its steady walk up to Jerusalem where Jesus was arrested, crucified and buried. These were somber days for our Lord as the weight and suffering of the cross drew ever closer for Him. Lent, then, is not about what we do, what piety we showcase, what fast we undertake or what vice we give up for a mere forty days. Lent is about Jesus and what He did for us.
Jesus showed us the heart of God revealed in Psalm 130. God is a loving God who desires to forgive the sins of His fallen creation. He desires to redeem us. This is why God the Father sent His Only Son, Jesus, to be the Christ who suffered, died and rose again for our justification and forgiveness. We never need doubt His love for us or the certainty of our salvation, for we have the assurance through Jesus that we have been redeemed before God.
Prayer: O Almighty and Everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts so that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.
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