SPIRITUAL MESSAGE

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Every year on Ash Wednesday I make a special point to observe the many people in Boston with ashes on their foreheads as they hurry home on the subways, trains and busses.  These people, some of whom may not attend church services regularly, always attend a service on Ash Wednesday to receive the imposition of ashes.  I have always asked myself, “Why is it so important to these people to receive ashes?”  I came to the conclusion that these people were raised knowing that Ash Wednesday is an important form of repentance in the Christian church and that even if they attend on no other days, they should come on this particular day.  On Ash Wednesday, we come to church to kneel, pray, and to ask God’s forgiveness.  We are reminded of our own sins and mortality in the form of the ashes.  In reality, Ash Wednesday is only the beginning of our Lenten journey.  The Lenten journey, culminating in Holy Week, Good Friday and Easter, is about participating in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  If one were only to attend church on Ash Wednesday, one would think that all we have to look forward to after this life is returning to dust.  By attending church services throughout our Lenten journey we find out that God has provided for us the way of the cross.  When we relive the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus we begin to understand that we are born anew because he died for us.  During this Lenten season, come and join us for more than Ash Wednesday, come and join us for the journey.

Your sister in Christ,

Kim Rapoza, Junior Warden