Ash Wednesday Service at PCPC March 2, 2022

Ash Wednesday Service at PCPC March 2, 2022 Follow Along in the Bulletin Here: https://www.palmaceia.org/wp-content/... Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, which is a period of 40 days leading up to Easter when traditionally Christians have turned their hearts and minds to confession, repentance, and a renewal of the disciplines of Christian life and practice. The Imposition of Ashes The biblical witness for the imposition of ashes is found in the opening of the human story: "You are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). In the tenth century the use of ashes was used to visibly remind worshipers of their mortality as they began their Lenten "watch by the cross." Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, reminds Christians (in the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A #88) that two things are involved in genuine repentance: "the dying of the old self and the coming to life of the new." The way to Easter is the way of the cross. Romans 6:3 reads, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" New life with Christ involves a daily surrendering of the old life. The first step of this Lenten journey invites us to acknowledge our mortality and our sinfulness by the imposition of ashes. As worshipers come forward, the ashes are imposed on the forehead making the sign of the cross with the thumb and repeating the words of Genesis 3:19: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Imposition of ashes can be a deeply moving, though sobering, experience. It is completely voluntary, and no on should feel compelled to come forward, nor should the practice be seen as a way of displaying one’s piety before others. It is simply a vivid and tangible reminder of our sinfulness and mortality and of our utter dependence upon the grace of God and the power of Christ's resurrection.