Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing.

Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. (Joel 2:12-13)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

“Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” The call to repentance is repeated for each individual on Ash Wednesday all over the world and in a multitude of languages. As we embark on our Lenten Journey, we begin with that same call to repentance.

This call to repentance contains two critical reminders.  First, we are mortal beings who will one day die. Secondly, God, abounding in steadfast love, offers us forgiveness and life.

Sometimes we take for granted just how powerful and crucial the act of confession and forgiveness really is. It is something we know is important enough to do every Sunday, but how many times do we go through the motions rather than really listening to what we are saying and what is being spoken to us.

Repentance is the experience of the death of the old human. Absolution (forgiveness) is the resurrection of the new human. “The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.” (1 Cor 15:47) The Old Adam (1^st man), with all his sin and imperfection, is destroyed daily. In his place, a New Adam (2^nd man), one in the perfect image of Christ, emerges. We experience this activity in our lives each day.

Confession and forgiveness is a matter of life and death. We confess our sins, things we have done or left undone which lead us into death. We receive God’s forgiveness, which leads us into life and salvation. That is the power of confession and forgiveness. More accurately, that is the power of forgiveness. Christ forgives our sins and gives us new life. We repent because we have heard the promise of Christ’s forgiveness. We repent because we are confident that God is “gracious and merciful.”

Another liturgical moment in which we remember coming from dust is at the graveside. We are once again reminded of our own human frailty as well as Christ’s promise of redemption. We know that being one with Christ means we never die again. Even though we came from dust and shall one day return to dust, our true inheritance is being with the Lord forever. God gives life.

As you embark on your Lenten Journey this year, the grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Let your light shine. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;

in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

Wash me through and through from my wickedness,

and cleanse me from my sin.  (Psalm 51:1-2)