True unveiled life 1

And all of us,
with unveiled faces,
seeing the glory of the Lord
as though reflected in a mirror,
are being transformed
into the same image
from one degree to another.
2 Corinthians 3.18

Remember that you are but dust,
and to dust you shall return.
Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.
Liturgy for imposition of ashes

It is Ash Wednesday 2019.
A still day (interrupted by torrential downpours). A quiet night.
Marked by ash and dust as well as profound joy and companionship.

The day began with the smell of burning in the vicarage as last year's palm crosses were turned to dust and ash. A familiar smell for those tasked with creating ash to be mixed with oil for the services of the day. 

Then the ever so tender moment when unveiled faces lift up to reveal foreheads to be marked with the sign of the cross - marked with love. The oil and the ash glue together in a rough paste, messy and not uniform. Each cross is different. Some look like a plus. Some are no more than a smear of greasy black dust, not properly formed. In other cases, the horizontal 'minus' seems to eradicate the first vertical. Some foreheads have veils of hair to negotiate. Some heads are angled further down, in a deep and reverent bow, so the application of the ash is compromised. Some give (and seek) eye contact. Others eyes are veiled by their lids.

A moment of touch, accepted, but not sought, perhaps. 

We accept we need transformation. We might not seek transformation for we know that the patterns of change required are beyond us - how can we change? What is it that God requires for the kind of transformation that is - actually - trans-formative? 

St Paul seems to point to the necessity of 'seeing' in his second, urgent, yet quite beautifully hopeful, letter to the Church at Corinth. Being a disciple is always about learning. It is about lifelong learning. It is about being open and willing to learn. And the kind of deep and rich learning tends to be done best in context, in relationship, in collaboration and in community. We learn best when we learn together. And we learn more deeply when such transformative living is modeled by others who have allowed God to deepen that transformation. 

Maturing in Christ is a 'body of Christ' activity. We mature together.

Living with unveiled faces is about allowing Christ to close the gap between who we think we are (delusioned, mostly) and who we really are (accepted without strings, yet urged on to maturity and marked by the cross).

The cross of ashes is the mark of glory for unveiled foreheads and faces which courageously look forward and not to the past. May we walk together through Lent.
Welcome back, my friends. And welcome more so, if you are new to this page.
I hope to write each day of Lent.
Join the conversation.