Ash Wednesday

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Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. –Luke 4:1-2

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And so it begins. Our forty days of Lent. We are not sure how Jesus was marked. Forty days in the desert would certainly have marked him with dust. But even more, his time in the desert would have been marked by prayer. Part of that earnest and urgent prayer would have been that his actions and his faithfulness would have resulted in the “hallowing” of the Father’s name.
Many of us will be “marked” this day. “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” It will mark us as belonging to the Christ. Those who observe our “mark” may well assume that we will be giving ourselves to prayer. That prayer may well ask that by our faithful actions the name of our great God may be “hallowed.”
Let these forty days be powerful days, made even more significant by joining our Lord in a disciplined and intentional prayer life. Let these forty days begin with an earnest “Hallowed be thy name.”
O Lord, by me and through me, “Hallowed be thy name.” AMEN.
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May the Lord bless you on your Lenten journey.

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