I went to an Ash Wednesday service. I had forgotten what kind of humbling experience it is. "From ashes you came and to ashes you will return..." was what was repeated to each person who decided that they wanted ashes on their foreheads.
This phrase was very personal to me because the same idea apparent in Ash Wednesday is very similar to a tattoo idea that has been mulling around in my head. But back to the service...
I accepted the ashes on my forehead and walked to the alter, knelt, and prayed. An interesting experience, I don't really remember the last time that I had voluntarily done that (some time in high school). But all of those memories returned to me. Even if all the other times that I had knelt at the alter were done so out of superficial piety I don't take them back.
Because of those times, today felt so
familiar.
But of course it was different too; I was a different person today kneeling at the alter than I was way back when. I was thinking that this experience may be an indication that I am coming back and coming back through a post-modern lens. Only time will tell. In-any-matter, my attitude today was different than it had been before. I realized that I actually do need help sometimes; I actually do need some justification for my actions; I actually do need some grace in my life.
"from ashes you came and to ashes you will return..."
"the world is moving on..."
"remember your mortality; remember that you will die..."
It was a new and humbling experience at the alter today. Sometimes we forget how our lives are really just a minor blip of existence in comparison. Are our lives any less pertinent or meaningful? No, not at all;it is just nice to put things into perspective.
I wrote to share this new thing that happened to me today. Still, some of this time felt so
very
familiar.
Comments (1)
I had an only vaguely similar experience. The difference being things felt unfamiliar. I attended my church from High School for the first time (not counting Christmas) in 4-ish years and couldn't get past the notion that I had outgrown the place. The U.U. in my hometown is nice, but is almost totally without structure. I need a call to action. I need passion and peace and God in the sermon, and it just wasn't there. I'm not really Unitarian anymore because I'm not that person who was.