Ash Wednesday 2013
“The Lord sees us differently than we do:
we look at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at our hearts.”
—1st Samuel 16:7, RDSV
Ash Wednesday has traditionally been a day to “confront our own mortality and confess our sin before God within the community of faith,” says our United Methodist Book of Worship.
It goes on to note that Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, which “began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts and then became a time for penance by all Christians.”
Decades ago, Elizabeth Taylor was in little-known movie in which she played a woman who had plastic surgery in an attempt to save her marriage. Her character changed nothing about her attitude or actions towards others.
She was the same person, despite her outward appearance.
The title of that movie? Ash Wednesday.
The Bible reminds us on this Ash Wednesday that God is not interested in how we look, but in who we are.
May today mark the beginning of a holy and transformational Lenten season for you, and may your Ash Wednesday be a blessed one.
joescheets 
In mass yesterday, Father Daniel talked about using the phrase, “repent and believe in the gospel” instead of the more traditional, “remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return” when marking our forehead with a cross of ashes. Your description of looking at the inside made me think of this focus on how we live vs. that we will eventually die. Thank you Joe.
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Jenny, Fr. Daniel and I are SO on the same page with this; thank you.
And hey — great having you in on this ongoing conversation here!
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