Start Lent with these Scripture readings

The Rev. Elizabeth Dickey. Photo: Gerald Farinas.

As the season of Lent begins, we gather at Edgewater Presbyterian Church to mark our foreheads with dust and our hearts with the promise of the Gospel.

Ash Wednesday is a solemn start, a day when we face the fact that our lives on earth will end and turn our focus toward the grace of God.

Using the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVue), we find ancient words that help us on our journey toward the cross.

The most famous words of the day come from Genesis 3:19, which reminds us that "by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return." These words are not meant to be scary. Instead, they help us be honest about who we are.

Psalm 103:14 offers a kind view of this reality, noting that "he knows how we were made; he remembers that we are dust."

In a similar way, Ecclesiastes 3:20 says that "all go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again."

Repentance is a big part of what we do as this holy season starts. To repent simply means to turn around and head back toward God.

The prophet Joel gives us a strong call to action in Joel 2:12, urging us to "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning."

The next verse, Joel 2:13, tells us to "rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love."

This theme of making things right is also in 2 Corinthians 5:20, where we are told, "We entreat you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God."

Confession is how we respond to this call, and Psalm 51 is our main prayer for the day.

In Psalm 51:1, we ask for help: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions."

We keep praying in Psalm 51:10, asking God to "create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."

We can feel safe knowing that, as Psalm 51:17 says, "the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Finally, as we wear our ashes out into the world, the Gospel gives us a guide on how to be sincere.

Matthew 6:1 warns us to "beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them."

This focus on the inside is very important because, as Matthew 6:21 says, "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This change in our hearts should lead us to help others, just as Isaiah 58:6 describes the kind of worship God wants, "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?"