Ash Wednesday

From Dust to Word: An Ash Wednesday Reflection

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
— Genesis 3:19

Ash Wednesday does not flatter us. There is no self-improvement plan in the ashes. No inspirational slogan. Just a sober reminder marked in the shape of a cross: we are mortal. We are sinners. We cannot save ourselves.

Our culture prizes strength, reinvention, and curated success. Ash Wednesday tells the truth.
We kneel. We confess. We hear again what Scripture has always declared: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). As Lutherans, our theology is a theology of the cross. We do not begin with glory but with repentance.

Lent Is a Season of Return

Through the prophet Joel, the Lord calls His people: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Joel 2:13).

Lent is not about proving devotion through spiritual effort. It is about returning to the Word. Returning to confession. Returning to Christ crucified.

For those of us with ready access to Scripture, this season invites deeper engagement. To open the Bible not as a ritual, but as life. To hear again the Law that exposes our sin and the Gospel that absolves it.

And as we return, we remember that many still wait.

Marked by Ashes, Marked by the Cross

On Ash Wednesday, we are marked with ashes. But we are marked in the shape of the cross.

That cross unites us with believers across languages and cultures. Some hear the Scriptures in English. Some in Swahili, Kerewe, Shekgalagari, Komba, or hundreds of others. Others are still praying for access.

The dust is universal. So is the need for the hope that only God’s Word can bring.

This Lent, as we kneel in repentance, we also lift our eyes in hope.
The Word who entered our dust has conquered it.
The Christ who bore our sin has forgiven it.
The Lord who formed us from dust will raise us from it.