The gospel text for Ash Wednesday (March 6) deliberately links the spiritual disciplines of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (Matt. 6:1-6; 16-18) with storing up of treasures (6:19-21). The passage warns that if these spiritual exercises are done only to impress people, without God, they lose their meaning and we become hypocrites.
If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, . . . if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. — Isaiah 58:3–12
“Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. …
What is Lent?
MB: Lent is a Christian season of practice, celebrated by some Christians, though not all. It’s not a prescription for holiness, but an invitation to relationship. Lent has its roots in the very early church, with some of those roots in preparation for baptism. During Lent the Scriptures remind us of God’s expectations for Israel, Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and his journey to the cross.
As part of an ongoing series designed to engage Presbyterians in conversation and learning around Christian festival days and secular holidays, the Office of Theology and Worship continued its new Facebook Live series yesterday featuring the Rev. Dr. Charles Wiley III, coordinator for Theology and Worship.
Journey to the Cross, the annual devotional series for Lent, will return to the daily devotional website, d365—devotionals 365 days a year—beginning Ash Wednesday, March 1.
As another Lenten season begins tomorrow for Christians in the U.S. and across the globe, the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will offer helpful insights into the history of Ash Wednesday as well as reflections on its contemporary relevance and practice for Presbyterians through a variety of resources.
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger …
Just as youth workers, educators, pastors and other church leaders who work with youth have started to ask themselves how they might introduce young people to a more informed and active observance of the season of Lent—which begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1—Ministries with Youth has a new resource at the ready.
