I always enjoy leading in worship. In worship leadership, one speaks on behalf of the congregation,
articulating the thanksgivings, requests, confessions, hopes, and convictions
of the worshippers. One also shares the
Word of God with the congregation, expressing words of forgiveness, hope,
challenge, comfort, and guidance. There
is power in the corporate experience of worship.
There is also great power in personalized, individualized
moments in worship. Some of my most
moving moments in worship leadership are when the service narrows its focus
down to a solitary individual. When
people come forward to take communion, one of these moments is created. I look into the person’s eyes, perhaps
calling them by name, and say: “This is
the body of Christ broken for You” or “This is the cup of Christ poured
out for You.” In that moment the
weight of those words come to bear directly on a single person; the rest of the
world falls away, and they stand robed in the mercy and grace of God in Jesus
Christ.
Another one of those moments can come on Ash Wednesday. The worshipper leader physically touches the
worshipper, making the mark of the cross on their forehead, and says: “From dust You have come and to dust You
shall return.” These words should be
experienced as depressing, discouraging, and diminishing; but they are
not. We experience them as liberating
and encouraging; they in some way lighten the load of our lives. Why?
They remind us that life in this world is not the only
thing. It is fleeting and fragile; but
that is all right with us. We were
created for something grander, more lasting, deeper and broader. This reminder gives us permission to hold our
lives and ourselves more lightly. G. K.
Chesterton wrote: “Angels can fly because
they take themselves lightly.” Those
ashes give us permission to fly a bit.
The ashes come to us in the shape of a cross. This reminds us that someone has done
something wonderful for us. It is true
that from dust we have come and to dust we shall return, but we are a great
deal more than dust. Through the cross
we have become the daughters and sons of God.
The cruciform ashes remind us of who we really are in spite of present
dusty appearance.
So we begin our 40 days of preparation for Holy Week and
Easter with a reminder of what we are—dust. We are also reminded of who we are—a great deal more than
dust.
James Kelsey
Ash Wednesday 2013
