![]() And that is because this journey reflects Jesus’ journey towards Jerusalem which was one of similar choices and sacrifices. This is a journey and a season of imposition. To fast, to pray for others, to give more abundantly of our time and money than we otherwise do. Lent is a journey in which the church assumes we will take upon us symbols and actions which would not be of our own choice. There is certainly something within us that fights this notion of imposition. ![]() Is this, I wonder, how we feel about accepting a symbol of our mortality, a symbol of judgement, a symbol of the need for repentance? ![]() The dictionary definition of imposition implies an unfair or unwelcome demand or burden. I wonder how you feel about being imposed upon? There is a negative connotation to this idea. I wanted to take a moment to invest in the idea that we are asked to accept the ashes which will be imposed upon us to start our journey through Lent. Words based on Genesis 3:19 are used traditionally to accompany this gesture, “Memento, homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.” (“Remember that thou art dust, and to dust thou shall return.”) Ashes are ceremonially placed on the heads of Christians on Ash Wednesday, either by being sprinkled over their heads or more often by being marked on their foreheads as a visible cross.
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