Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-13

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.

The camera never lies

is no longer true

Everything can be edited

smudged out

recoloured

enhanced.

Mistakes can be rectified

or turned into features

until the finished composition

bears little resemblance

to the original subject.

So is the potential 

for children of God today

to be recreated

in the likeness of God.

The smudge of ashes on our foreheads

a symbol of the potential 

of the transforming love and mercy 

of the Creator.

The repentance in our hearts

a beginning on the road to change 

that starts

with a single step.

Returning to God

whose editing is filled

with compassion and love.

Following Christ into the desert

to discern anew

our image and purpose

as children of the living God

at large in the world today.