From Ashes to Love

MFSA 2025 Lent Devotional: Week 1

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"Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, to be like us. Let them be stewards of the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, the wild animals, and everything that crawls on the ground.’ Humankind was created as God’s reflection: in the divine image God created them; female and male, God made them.”

– Genesis 1:26-27 (The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation)

I served a church in Washington DC during the time that “Ashes to Go” became a thing. Colleagues would post selfies of themselves at a busy subway station on Ash Wednesday in collar and stole, offering ashes to anyone who would like them. All the cool clergy were jumping on board to participate in their own communities. Me? Well, once again, I was not cool. I was never cool in school and I wasn’t joining the cool clergy taking to the streets to offer ashes and an invitation to come to church for Lent. 

Here’s my unpopular opinion: “Ashes to Go” leaves out too much of the message of the gospel. For those who are steeped in church life, “Ashes to Go” may very well be a visible sign of their faith in the middle of the week; may very well remind them how faith fits into their life. For everyone else, I worry that the message of “Ashes to Go” may land very different from what is intended. 

Whether it is “Ashes to Go” or a more traditional Ash Wednesday service, I wrestle year after year with the message of the day. I can appreciate that it is good to remember that we are mortal, that our lives are brief, that we should make the most of the time we do have. And yet, and yet, for the Ash Wednesday message to simply be “Remember you are dust and to dust you will return” feels insufficient, lacking in grace and love. 

There are plenty of messages in our society these days that remind us of our mortality — just look at the proliferation of anti-aging products, notice the number of people dying at young ages. There are plenty of messages in our society these days that remind us of our unworthiness and how little people are valued. How quickly companies have abandoned DEIB initiatives (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging). How many civil servants have been fired. How many nonprofits are threatened by the loss of funding. How much medical research is in jeopardy because of blind funding cuts. How many transgender people are frightened by increased violence and oppression. How many hardworking, upstanding immigrants are being arrested for no other reason than seeking to live and work and provide for their families. In this kind of environment, where is the grace in telling folks, “remember you are dust, and to dust you will return?” 

Yes, we are mortal. AND we are created in the image of God. Genesis 1 — the very beginning of our faith story tells us that God created humankind in Their image. Everyone, all people, are beloved children of God, born in the likeness of God. The fuller message of the gospel is that God loves us and longs to be in relationship with us, that God is found with the marginalized, that God expects us to love all our neighbors as ourselves, that every lost sheep is valuable, that Samaritans may teach us something about what it means to love our neighbor, that God makes a way where we do not see a way, that resurrection follows death. 

In contrast to “Ashes to Go,” I think of a woman from my church in DC who has a trans son. Every Pride celebration, she shows up with a sign that offers “Free Mom Hugs.” She takes to the streets, her heart on her sleeve, and offers love and acceptance to each and everyone she meets. 

“Remember you are loved, and to Love you will return.”

The Rev. Dr. Mary Kay Totty serves as Lead Pastor of Seward United Methodist Church in Seward, NE. She is a United Methodist ordained elder, having served churches of various sizes in Nebraska, West Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Mary Kay has been a member of the Methodist Federation for Social Action for more than 30 years.