Sidewalks, Ashes, and Blessings

You may have seen me on Wednesday. I was the one dressed in black walking up and down the sidewalk in front of Trinity Episcopal Church on Kirkwood.  I was there to offer Ashes and a Blessing to the folks walking by. Even though I looked like some fictional, overcharged preacher shouting "Repent!" I was not. Instead, I was thinking and wondering about what it means to offer a blessing to the community. So, I wandered the sidewalks, a visible reminder that on this particular day, the day known as Ash Wednesday, the Church began a very important season - the season of Lent.

Even though I wasn't shouting "Repent," repentance is a part of the season of Lent. Unfortunately, the word is startling. It hits like a smack across the cheek. The subtext of the command to repent is that we are terrible, horrible people, that we have done something wrong, or that we need a complete overhaul on how we live our lives. The subtext of the message is one of judgment.

Not helpful.

The great Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron, says that a most basic Buddhist teaching is learning how not to cause harm to ourselves or to others. Whether you are a religious person or a spiritual person, I hope that you agree with this teaching. And even though the 'R' word is loaded with negative Christian-y, religious-y baggage, it is an important ingredient in living lives that are productive and non-violent.

You might think of hearing the word more gently. From the Greek metanoia,  it simply means a change of mind or a change of the inner person. Seen from this angle, repentance simply means to examine how we, by our actions or lifestyle, are doing harm to ourselves or to others. Repentance calls us to slow down, to breath, to meditate, to pay attention. In being more attentive, we become aware of what we are doing to our bodies. We become aware of the pace at which we move through life, or the relationships that aren't healthy or generative. Lent gives us the space to sit with what causes hope and with what causes fear. In doing so, we live into God's call to each of us to live healthy, connected, honest lives.

In my tradition, Lent was a time of education. It was a time when people who had fallen away from community were allowed to reenter. We still use Lent as a time of education, exploration, and education. It is a time to free ourselves from the chains that keep us from moving fully forward into life. Are we doing harm to ourselves or to others? Do any of our patterns need to come to a graceful conclusion? What is serving us? What is not? These are the questions that we ask ourselves during Lent, and we trust that in the midst of these questions, God is shaping a humanity that is kinder and gentler.

Some priests think that offering ashes on the sidewalk waters down the experience; they don't like the idea of offering ashes 'on the go.' I used to be one of those priests. I still believe strongly in the value of regular worship, of slowing down and creating intentional space for our spiritual practices. A Church creates a space to retreat - to take out your earbuds, leave your coffee cup behind, take a few deep breaths, focus on how God is reaching out to you, and yes, even repent of the wrongs we have done. At the same time, I think it is the role of the Church to offer a blessing, and sometimes that happens in unexpected places, in the real world, outside of the warmth and comfort of our sanctuaries.

So, I guess I can't wander the streets every day and smear ashes on peoples' foreheads. I can, though, offer a blessing. As the Church, we are here to be a place of blessing and to give that blessing away. It is a blessing of Peace, a blessing of Hope, a blessing of Presence, and a blessing of a God who wants each of us to flourish.

In whatever faith community or dwelling you find yourself this Lenten season, I hope you are learning something new about who you are, about who your neighbor is, and about who God is.

Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, may you be blessed, and may you be a blessing to others.