St Valentine Ashes

 Psalm 51

TO THE LEADER. A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN THE PROPHET NATHAN CAME TO HIM, AFTER HE HAD GONE IN TO BATHSHEBA.

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.

On St Valentine’s Day Ash Wednesday 

I want to mark foreheads with ashes in the shape of hearts

To remind us that we are beloved of God

There are enough reminders of death and destruction

of evil and corruption that assault us at every turn.

Yet how can I speak of love without repentance?

Or belovedness without confession of all the ways 

that I am complicit in the poverty that stalks the world

as I hold on to an economy of scarcity

rather than embrace the abundance of God 

who created the world in love and in goodness.

And as I keep silent in the face of violence and injustice.

I need to be reminded of what love looks like

“You are redeemed by the cross of Christ”

I need to hear those words

and have a cross smudged on my forehead

to remind me of the length to which love goes

Like David, the Psalmist, 

confronted with his abuse of power

in violating Bathsheba

I, too, need to look my complicity in the eye 

and be reminded that it is only the kind of love that embraces a cross

that will bring hope and healing for the world

Confession

Repentance

A cross

Wrapped up in love.

These are the rites of Ash Wednesday

(Liz Crumlish Ash Wednesday 2024)

Written in the dust

 For Ash Wednesday

We gather up the crosses from last year’s palms

and set them alight to create ash

so that we may remember

that we are dust and to dust we shall return

While in the rubble of communities destroyed by earthquake

no reminder is needed of the fragility of life

We mix the ashes with oil

and wear them on our foreheads

to symbolise our need to repent

While those who live in the grime

of war ravaged cities

wear their weariness

and their courage

in their determination to survive another day

Will our rituals go beyond ancient symbol

and connect us with the dust of the earth

that cries out for justice

and compassion

dust that spells out faith

in the goodness of creation

dust that holds out hope

that justice shall prevail

dust shot through with love

for the healing of the world

Liz Crumlish 2023

What kind of fast?

Isaiah 58:6-7

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:

to break the chains of injustice,

get rid of exploitation in the workplace,

free the oppressed,

cancel debts.

What I'm interested in seeing you do is:

sharing your food with the hungry,

inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,

being available to your own families.

Smudging our foreheads with ash

Fasting from whatever normally consumes us

- be it technology, food or drink

Focussing on our intentions

to give thanks

or to de-clutter

or to be more intentional in our living 

may be good reminders

of the season 

or of our intention to make space for God

in our all too busy lives...

But it's not enough 

It's not enough when there are beggars in our High Streets 

It's not enough when those who serve our country (any country)

are homeless 

or unemployed

It's not enough

when we turn our back

on those exiled

forced to flee from their homes

and their lands 

because of war

or persecution

or genocide.

It's not enough

when we'd rather funds arms

or oil

than clean water

or health care

or education.

Unless each grain of ash

symbolises our commitment

to embrace repentance

to seek forgiveness

and to work on restoration

of justice for all...

Unless each smudge 

signals our whole hearted desire

to embrace the other - 

Those in our midst

and those far off

Unless we are prepared

to wear our love

as visibly as the ash

by which we show our privilege

of birth,

Unless we feed the hungry

and clothe the naked

and shelter the homeless

and welcome the stranger

God is not served

and the kingdom is not built 

and our fasting is in vain.

May the ashes we don

be a symbol of intent

followed up by action

that ushers in

the reign of God.

Baptism, Eucharist, Death

Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return... (Genesis 3:19)

Ash Wednesday

The first day of the season of Lent

When, by a simple smudge of ashes

the whole gospel is proclaimed:

You are loved,

You are deeply loved

by the God who loved you before you were born

whose love accompanies you through all of life

and whose arms will be there to welcome you in death.

Affirming in baptism: You are my beloved child

Reaching out through the Eucharist: Remember me

Proclaiming in death: Love never ends

In all your sojourns in the wilderness of life

may you hear those whispers 

of the God who created you

of the God who redeems you

And of the God who waits to welcome you to eternal life.

Repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15)