Scripture: Psalm 51
photo credit: Ash Wednesday Mass in Canary Wharf celebrated by Papal Nuncio Archbishop Mennini via photopin (license)
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. For forty days Jesus was in the wilderness. For forty days we go into the desert of our souls to reflect and repent and change our ways. We remember that we are dust, and that to dust we will return. We pray that God will accomplish in us the work of salvation.
Many of the people we serve understand the wilderness. They know that they are dust. They pray that prayer every day.
For some, it’s a metaphor. They live in the desert of poverty. They know a world where there is never enough. They know a life where they cannot get ahead. They know that there is a better life that they cannot reach.
For some, it’s quite literal. They live in the woods. They live on the beach. They live wherever they can lay their heads.
In today’s psalm, the psalmist talks about his own wilderness. He talks about his own desire for a better life. He talks about wanting a clean heart and a right spirit and the joy of salvation. He is praying for a different life, a better life.
And he promises that if God delivers these things, he will teach others. If he can leave his own wilderness, he will bring others out of theirs.
This year during Lent we’re going to do something a little different.
We’re going to talk about the wilderness that our clients experience.
We’re going to talk about how we help people make their way through that wilderness.
We’re going to talk about how we help people make their way out of that wilderness.
We’re going to talk about our plans for today… and our hopes for tomorrow.
We hope you’ll join us. Every Sunday during Lent. Right here.
