Lent begins with Ash Wednesday It is called Ash Wednesday because we use ashes in liturgy that day. During the worship service we mark our foreheads with ashes in the sign of the cross. Ashes have typically been used as sign of repentance. The ashes also remind us of our mortality. The words spoken during the imposition of the ashes are “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” These words echo the Word of God to Adam and Eve after the fall. They remind us that life is short, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Therefore we should live our lives today and every day in light of eternity. We mark our foreheads with ashes in the sign of the cross to remember our baptism after which we are also marked with the sign of the cross. Marking the forehead with the sign of the cross reminds us that we belong to Him. This centers the focus our Lenten journey on the Lord Himself, who has marked us as His own. The Ash Wednesday Liturgy reminds us that if we bring the ashes of our life to the Lord, in faith, that He will bring us to new life.
‘Highlights that stuck out for me were A’s talk of just being with God, … the great conversations on our table and the quiet and stillness during the last five minutes of prayer. It felt like everyone in the room was praying as one in the stillness, amazing.’‘I very much appreciated having the opportunity to spend time with members of our church family over breakfast and to pray together in a relaxed and informal setting.’‘The though of leading kept me awake in the night hours. As i prayed, the thought came to me that if teenager Mary could give birth to the Son of God, then I could chair one and a quarter hour breakfast! There was a real sense of God’s presence in the stillness at the end.’‘I really enjoyed the discussion and prayer time'.
The Oxford Language dictionary defines prayer as: “a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or another deity.”In other words, this defines prayer as what we say to God at set moments. I suspect that is roughly the definition that I had for a good chunk of my life, or at least I behaved as if it was. But I think it is a potentially problematic definition of prayer. Quite a while back, I realized that God “knows what [I] need before [I] ask him.” I prefer a definition of prayer given by Bishop Stephen Cottrell when he said “prayer is the lover coming into the presence of the beloved and saying: I love you.” Both the poetry and the theology of this definition appeal to me. “The lover”, says the bishop, is God and we are “The beloved”. To think of prayer this way has taken a huge burden from me because I know my shortcomings, but I also know who God is and that I can trust him. I am much more comfortable with prayer now. I use silence and contemplation in prayer after a busy day, when my mind is overwhelmed or I come to the presence of God in a moment of silence just seated wherever I am; and I love it. I am quite a restless person and so I like to pray as I go for walks, and find I am able to stay in prayer for longer. I have learned to love the thankfulness aspect of prayer too. Not just listing the things that I am thankful for, but pausing and reflecting on each thing, feeling the emotions that flow from it, savouring it for a moment or two and then thanking God again for it. Practices like these bring home to me the truth of a phrase I once heard: “prayer is the foretaste of heaven”. Prayer calms me down when I am overwhelmed, helps me persevere on life's journey and builds up positive feelings and emotions that make me resilient. Shared by Jackson Klein at our January 2024 Church Prayer Breakfast.
Journeys can be wonderful adventures. Sometimes you have a very clear understanding of where you are going and how to get there and other times things seem to get in the way. This might include traffic, car problems, loss of direction or many other things. Over this Christmas period you may have made many journeys, whether they be to see family or friends, for celebration or just to find time to go out and be together. At times journeys can seem a bit of a pain. This may be true when traveling with children who constantly cry, ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ or ‘How much further?’ The journey may seem to take forever with all sorts of hazards getting in our way. But sometimes the journey itself can be the most fascinating part of the experience. The conversations we have along the way, the scenery that we can take in and admire. The things that we learn or perhaps even the anticipation that builds throughout the trip. I’m always fascinated by the journey that the Magi took. Here is a group of stargazers, who set off on a journey. A journey that lasted several years and a journey that ultimately changed their lives. We read in Matthew’s Gospel that the Magi, saw the star and came to worship him (Matthew 2:2). We know the end of this story, their Epiphany moment but what led up to this was equally important. I wonder what they talked about on the way. Did they speculate about what they would see, and was the final encounter better then they imagined? Did they run into difficulties which they persevered through? Did they get caught in traffic? And after years of traveling, did they ever feel like giving up?At the end of their journey they met Jesus and they worshipped him. An amazing experience for each of them. But this end is just the beginning of a new journey, a journey of discovery – a journey to explore more. The things we learn on the journey are just as important if not more important than the destination itself. It is within the journey that we grow and change, culminating in reaching the goal at the other side. The journey helps us to develop so that we might enjoy the destination when we arrive.As we venture, perhaps with trepidation, into 2024, maybe now is a good time to take note of where we are in the journey. To look around, take stock, enjoy the scenery. To appreciate how far we have come and although we may have a long way to go, to realize we are not in the same place that we once were. It is in the journey that God moves us to the places where he needs and wants us. And it is in the journey that we are changed to be the people who God created us to be, being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory (2 Cor 3:18). My prayer is that we will fully experience the journey in the hope that what we find at the destination will be truly wonderful and life changing.Revd.Duncan Hutchison, Associate Priest
