As we begin our journey to the cross and to the empty tomb, we will walk with Jesus through His sacrificial acts. It all begins here with ashes, an ancient biblical sign of penitence. From the Old Testament to the present, ashes continue to be an outward sign of our inward sadness for our sins and our inability to stop sinning. The ashes bear witness to the internal sorrow over our sin with which we disrespect our relationship with our God, who still calls us to Himself to receive His forgiveness, calling us His children. The mood of this service is somber as we reflect upon the helplessness of our lives if God had not called us out of darkness by faith. Tonight, we recall God’s faithfulness to save us through being connected to His Son’s death and resurrection. Thus, even so we are dust and to dust we shall return, there is hope. The ashes are marked in the sign of that hope: a cross where Christ bore the weight of our sin so that we might be forgiven and restored to Himself in the Resurrection to come!
