Growing up Baptist, I had no idea what Ash
Wednesday was. Only when I got to San Antonio and started rubbing shoulders with
people of other faiths did I find out what a wonderful spiritual exercise Lent
can be.
Now most big cities in Texas have at least one
or two quirky Baptist churches. Churches that march to the beat of their own
drummer, so to speak. We are decidedly one of those. We do things in our own
ways, in the ways that seem right and good to us. One of the things we do is
incorporate a lot of things from other Christian traditions. Over the years,
Lent has become a very important season for us.
And yes, we do the imposition of ashes in a
worship service on Ash Wednesday. It took me about three years to get the ash
and oil mixture right. The first year I used water, which does not work well.
Also the woman who burned the palm leaves didn't have any experience with that,
so there were a lot of chunks and stuff in the ashes. People ended up with these
dry, gray smudges on their foreheads with bits of leaves and other stuff
sticking to them.
Eh, whaddya gonna do? We're Baptists. We don't
know from Lent. Sometimes we mess up with liturgical worship, but it's always
cute and at least good for a laugh. I remember the first time I decided I wanted
to wear a robe for a wedding - another thing Baptist ministers don't often do. I
borrowed one from an Episcopal church. Only I picked up the wrong robe, I guess,
because people laughed and said I looked like an altar boy.
But I must say that after a number of years,
we've developed a very meaningful Ash Wednesday service. The woman who burns the
palms to make our ashes does a great job and never forgets. And I finally figured out
that you mix them with oil so they make a nice cross-shaped smudge on the
forehead.
We are not from a sacramental tradition, so
there are no priests in our church. Instead, we are priests to one another. With
that freedom in mind, last night we imposed ashes on each other. One person
would come forward and stand waiting. Then someone else would come and stand
next to her, pray for her, and make the sign of the cross on her forehead with
ashes. I cried watching my youngest daughter, who is 9, saying her prayer and
making the sign of the cross on her best friend's forehead. The children went
first, for some reason. Then people came alone or in pairs, praying for each
other and applying ashes in turn.
It was a wonderful evening. Very meaningful and
I felt so connected to my little faith community. It was just one of those
nights, you know?
Then something very funny happened.
The people of Covenant Baptist Church are full
of life. They will only be serious for so long, before someone does something
silly or goofy. Last night was no different. After everything was over, Shelby
(our middle sister) and her friend Hannah sneaked over to the table and had some
fun with the ashes.
Click for larger image
Silly girls. I laughed so hard when Hannah made
fists and tried to look like a football player. One thing about young people,
they won't let you get away with taking things too seriously. And this is an
important lesson to learn.
Let me tell you what church is supposed to be.
It is supposed to be a community of friends who have walked together through the
good times and the hard times of life so that their shared history is more
powerful than their differences. It is a gathering of spiritual seekers who do
not demand exact conformity in every doctrine, but acknowledge a shared
commitment to Christ and fidelity in living. There is real trust and love.
Mistakes are made and people are forgiven. And you feel safe. Safe enough to
laugh or cry. Safe enough even to sneak up to the front of the church and have a
little fun with the ashes.
rlp
