Lent begins: Ash Wednesday at Home

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 17, 2021. We will share weekly Scripture readings, prayers and rituals for all ages to observe Lent at home. You can follow the series on the blog and/or download the full Lent At Home worship guide here.

What Is Lent?

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and prepares us for Easter, as Advent prepares us for Christmas. It is a time to:

• Focus on the life and work of Jesus.
• Clean out our lives and make room for hearing and responding to Jesus’ call to us.
• Think about our response to the call to follow.
• Confess what stands in our way of responding to God’s call.
• Practice humility, confessing our human limitations and our need for God.
• Make space for God to lift us up!

Lent is when we walk with Jesus all the way to the cross.

Ash Wednesday at Home Resources

Note that this simple ritual can easily be adapted for a corporate setting. In fact, it is based on an all-age Ash Wednesday service from College Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana.

What is Ash Wednesday?

• Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.
• We confess our humanity. We are humans, not gods.
• That means we miss the mark. We hurt others. We break relationships.
• And being human means we are created by God, in the image of God. It means God sticks with us.
• Being human means we are an integral part of creation, created to live in community with God, ourselves, others and all of creation.
• To be human means to be deeply connected with God’s sustaining creation – with the water that cleanses and renews us, the fire that refines and comforts us, the wind that moves us, and the earth from which we come and is our life source.

On Ash Wednesday, we dig deep and start to discover what it is that keeps us from being our best human selves.

Ash Wednesday Ritual

Prepare for the Household Ritual

• Traditionally, we burn the palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday, but you can burn any organic material to make your ashes.
• Mix them with a bit of oil (olive oil is great) to help them stick together. This may be a fun household project!

Stations

• Earth: A container with some soil (preferably good, rich soil!) and a towel to wipe off hands.
• Fire: A “Christ candle” (maybe use your candle from Advent) and enough other candles with candle holders for every member of your household
• Water: A bowl of water large enough to put hands in and a towel
• Air: A bottle of bubbles and bubble wands
• Print out the Scripture passages and the reflection and action instructions for each station if you want the stations to be self-guided. Otherwise, you can just read these for each station.

Do the Ritual Together

Introduction: Introduce the ritual by explaining the meaning of Ash Wednesday. You could read through all of “What is Ash Wednesday” (above), or choose points from it that are most helpful for your household. You may want to play this Ash Wednesday playlist (https://spoti.fi/37kVXbv) softly in the background (Free Spotify account required).

Imposition of Ashes: Anoint each other’s foreheads (or your own forehead) with ashes in the shape of a cross. Speak the words, “From dust we come, and to dust we will return.” Genesis 3:19

Explore Your Humanity: You may want to do each thing as a household, or let everyone explore at their own pace. Very young children will probably need to partner with a grown-up. There is an option for a (very simplified) reflection for young children.

Earth

• Scripture:
  • Genesis 2:7
  • Genesis 2:9
  • Genesis 2:19
  • Ecclesiastes 3:19-20
• Reflection and Action:
  • We come from good soil that has been shaped and brought to life by God. And we will return to the soil.
  • Put your hands in the soil. Touch it. Smell it. Look at it closely.
  • God has taken great care to create you from good soil. God has taken great care to create everyone from good soil. God has taken great care in creating all living things from good soil. God takes great care as soil receives death and decay. And what remains is good soil, ready for God to use, again and again.
  • For young children: “Like things grow in this good soil, the love of Jesus grows in me.” Explore the soil.

Fire

• Scripture: John 8:12
• Reflection and Action:
  • Light a small candle from the Christ candle.
  • Reflect on the ways that the light of Christ provides direction, comfort and challenge in your life.
  • Sit (or stand) with the light, inviting an awareness of God’s presence with you.
  • Pray for courage to face whatever lies before you and to walk in the ways revealed to you by the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. Leave your lit candle in the candle holder as a sign of hope and courage.
  • For young children: “Jesus, show me your way.” Light a candle.

Air

• Scripture: Psalm 104:3-4
• Reflection and Action:
  • The Holy Spirit can be a gentle breeze that lightly lifts a fallen leaf or a rushing wind that rearranges the world. The Spirit moves around us and through us, connecting us in our very human form to our Creator.
  • Blow some bubbles, and as you do, notice the way your breath helps to create them. Observe the different kinds of bubbles that form when you blow with a gentle breath or with a stronger breath.
  • Imagine the Holy Spirit creating in you the way that your breath creates the bubbles.
  • For young children: “Jesus gives me life and makes me move.” Blow bubbles.

 Water

• Scripture: Psalm 51:10-12
• Reflection and Action:
  • We can think of Lent as “spring cleaning.” Just as we clean our houses in preparation for a visit from a special guest, we take time to examine our lives in preparation for our encounter with the risen Christ at Easter.
  • Dip your hands into the water in the bowl, then wipe them dry on the towel provided.
  • Reflect on what your life could look and feel like, thoroughly rinsed with God’s love.
  • For young children: “Jesus, make me clean.” Wash your hands.

Optional Prayer of Confession:
Holy God, we confess our humanity, our attachment to earthly treasures, our hypocrisy and hidden idols. Forgive us. We confess our dependence on you, our need for your Holy Spirit, our need for your gifts of earth, air, wind, fire and water, our interdependence with your creation. Grant us peace and mercy to let go of all that keeps us from you. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Closing: From the adamah (soil) of the earth, God shaped us and breathed life into us. Nothing separates us from the love of God. One day, we will all return to the earth from which we’ve been made, fed, nurtured and sustained, and out of which new life comes. What a glorious circle of life!

Ashes to ashes.
Dust to dust.
Life to life.
Love to love.