How Ash Wednesday Found Us in a Kenyan Village

February 20, 2012 by

Beth Miller is an author, educator and a veteran in leading group retreats around the world. This spring, she is writing a book about the many ways people can transform local travel into spiritual pilgrimage. We invited Beth to write about entering the Lenten season …

How
Ash Wednesday
Found Us in Kenya

By BETH MILLER

My most memorable Ash Wednesday was one I almost missed. That year, I was in a Kenyan village close to the Equator leading a “mission trip” for youth and adults. Consumed with all of the preparations for our complex journey half way around the world, I forgot this crucial date in the Christian calendar. The reminder came when I placed a telephone call to my home.

My clergy husband asked, “What are you doing for Ash Wednesday?”
My heart sank. “Nothing. Is today really Ash Wednesday?”
He insisted that I must prepare a service.
I protested that I wasn’t ordained clergy; this was outside my job description.
But he left me no option. “You can. You must.”

One of the teenagers in our Kenyan group was thrilled with the task of finding a cup of ashes. He pictured burning down something! I reminded him that there was an outdoor fire ring nearby for cooking meals. And, off he went.

What would he find? What would he bring back to us? Since early in my spiritual formation, receiving the sign of the cross as the ashes are pressed onto my forehead is a very sensory experience. Some of the ashes always cling to my eyelashes. I am careful as I brush them away, not wanting to lose the mark of the ashes. The physical act is a visible sign of an invisible grace, important to me as a child and cherished as an adult. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”—words usually read at a funeral service. Ashes remind us where we have come from and where we are going. Ashes are the result of fire. They are—what’s left. So is Ash Wednesday a day of contemplation and confession, stripping away the extraneous. After that spiritual work, we face what’s left in our lives.

The teenagers and adults around me in Kenya had packed carefully for our long journey to reach the weigh limit for our flights. We carried only the bare essentials on such a challenging trip. And, that’s the spiritual gift of Ash Wednesday: eliminating all that we can do without. Ash Wednesday sets limits that liberate our souls.

That evening in the Kenyan village, we sang songs accompanied by a guitar. I read from Psalm 51:

You desire truth in our inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. …
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

This particular group of Christians was not used to practicing open confession or testimony during worship. Nevertheless, the young man who had eagerly collected the ashes asked if he could talk. Tears started running down his cheeks. Working with Kenyan youth, those living in acute poverty, made him realize how much he took for granted. In this young man’s words, he confessed, “I am a spoiled brat.”

Rather than trying to make him feel better, I found myself saying, “I think God is speaking to you. Stay with those feelings and find where God is leading you.”

Ash Wednesday had found us. One after another, people spoke from deep places within their hearts and souls. By the time the ashes were pressed on our foreheads that night, we were a forgiven people, restored and full of joy.

We were ready for the journey that now stretched out ahead of us.

Want more inspirational reading for Lent?

Lent is booming across the U.S. as a spiritual practice. Learn why that’s happening—and get a copy of the new book, Our Lent: Things We Carry (2nd Edition).

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Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.

Lent is booming as a spiritual practice. Come along!

February 11, 2012 by

Even evangelist Shane Claiborne says that Lent is an essential part of the Christian year. In the opening weeks of Lent, Shane Claiborne will return to the pages of ReadTheSpirit for a fresh interview about his own book, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals—a guide to daily prayer that is circling the globe in all kinds of Christian communities. In his plain-talking style, Shane urges people to observe Lent each year because, “It is a good season to rethink how we live.”

Coming from one of Zondervan’s most popular authors—a preacher who draws big crowds in evangelical churches—that’s a major shift toward observing Lent. For many years, Lent was widely regarded by evangelicals as pretty much a “Catholic thing.” Of course, in this new century, Catholic parishes also are seeing a rise in Lenten observances. This trend makes sense in an era of turbulent change in our world. A return to spiritual practices—from praying daily to following the centuries-old traditions of Lent—is a journey that reconnects us with the timeless wisdom of our faith. That’s what writers like Claiborne and John Philip Newell are talking about as they circle the globe.

LENT IS ALL ABOUT SPIRITUAL SELF EXPRESSION

This sacred season recalls the heart of the Gospels that 2 billion Christians around the world regard as a sacred guide to living—so the diversity of our Lenten experience may seem surprising. Eastern and Western Christians sometimes converge on the same Lenten calendar—but this year they are one week different in their schedules. Western Christians start on February 22 in 2012; they count Lent’s 40 days as starting with Ash Wednesday but excluding Sundays; and Holy Week represents the final days of Western Lent. However, Eastern Christians, also called Orthodox, start on February 27 this year with Clean Monday; they traditionally count Sundays among their 40 days; and they are done with their 40 days of Lent before the week leading up to Easter. Just considering the differences between these two huge branches of Christianity—it’s obvious that the Lenten tradition of self expression is deeply rooted in this season.

WHY IS LENT RISING IN POPULARITY? A DEEPER REASON …

Beyond the impact of voices like Claiborne and Newell, why is this season rising in popularity?
As a careful observer of religious life over the past three decades, and now as Editor of ReadTheSpirit, I believe that Lent is the perfect Christian season for this 21st-century era of change, anxiety and spiritual transformation. Uncluttered by the commercial avalanche that has all but buried the Advent season that leads to Christmas, Lent retains much of its ancient religious potential.

University of Michigan sociologist Dr. Wayne E. Baker, in his landmark study “America’s Crisis of Values,” used the massive global waves of data from the World Values Survey to demonstrate the unusual nature of American religious values. Compared with other global cultures, Baker showed that Americans are unique: We are so overwhelmingly religious that we resemble countries like Iran in our spiritual intensity. But, when it comes to values concerning self-expression, Americans surpass Scandinavians in our zeal. We are people of deep faith coupled with an equally deep desire to freely share our religious experiences.

LENT: THE LORD OF THE RINGS OF BIBLE STORIES

In such an era, Lent is the perfect, untarnished blend of religious tradition and spiritual adventure—ancient roots still blossoming in self-expression. Or, to put it another way, Lent is the Lord of the Rings of scriptural stories—a fellowship of men and women fearlessly summoning traditional knowledge as they make their way toward a dangerous encounter in a city where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Yet, unlike J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, each of us is invited to make our own Lenten pilgrimage each year. That’s how millions of Christians experience the season—preparing their hearts, minds and daily lives in fresh ways for this epic quest. Lent is a life-changing, personal and communal encounter with the sacred.

OUR LENT: TAKE A LOOK AT SAMPLE STORIES …

Now, many religious leaders are aware of Lent’s rising popularity and are helping men and women to make fresh connections with this life-changing season. Thousands of churches now distribute devotional books to help shape this epic journey. As we established ReadTheSpirit in late 2007, one of our first projects was the production of the book, Our Lent: Things We Carry. The first edition had a white cover.
For the 2012 Lenten season, we have revamped, updated and redesigned this book. The new edition has a gold cover. Today, take a look at our re-launched web pages for Our Lent, the 2nd Edition. You’ll find several inspiring stories to help you plan ahead for this year’s Lenten season.

Please help us to reach a wider audience

We welcome your Emails at [email protected]
We’re also reachable on Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Huffington Post, YouTube and other social-networking sites. You also can Subscribe to our articles via Email or RSS feed.
Plus, there’s a free Monday morning Planner newsletter you may enjoy.

Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online magazine covering religion and cultural diversity.