Photo Courtesy of Emily Mellott, Ashes to Go
Ashes to Go
A commuter receives ashes at a train station in Maryland.
"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost?" Luke 14:28
For good or bad you find all sorts of things on the Internet, especially concerning the church. For instance last week was Ash Wednesday. I saw that a pastor and friend of mine did something incredibly creative. He went out into the streets of his city, in his clerical robes, and set up a sandwich board which read "Get Your Ashes here". That's correct. He went out to the people to offer them the Imposition of Ashes.
It was an effort to get the church outside of its four walls. His church went to the broken, the hurting people of his city and offered them a chance to repent, and a chance to remember their place in the world. Not that there is anything magical about receiving the sign of a cross on one's forehead. But the gesture itself very well may have opened many pathways for conversation and an offer of a relationship with Christ.
However, not every idea is a good one, no matter how innovative it is. On that same day I saw an article about a church that was offering drive through imposition of the ashes. That's right you drove up to the church roll down your window and someone would mark you with a cross. Roll up the window and drive away, no muss, no fuss.
So how is this idea different from the first? It would seem that the first was motivated by a desire to touch those outside of the church with the Good News. The second is motivated by convenience. As if to say "We know you are busy, and this whole Lent and church thing is an inconvenience. I mean go to church on Sunday AND Wednesday? We'll make this as easy as possible for you. In fat we don't even need to have a conversation." So the cross merely becomes another thing to check off our list on a busy day.
While I never want to speak bad about another church, I wonder how one rectifies this with Jesus statement that we are to "count the cost"? Jesus says, "If you want to be my disciple, you need to know what you are getting yourself in for. It's going to cost you something." Being a disciple doesn't just cost us something, it cost us everything. We are asked to give Jesus everything in our lives. We are to put it all under His feet.
Many years ago theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned the church about cheap grace. Grace that doesn't cost you anything probably isn't worth very much.
Maybe that's why Lent is such an important part of the church year. It's a season of inconvenience. We are asked to slow it down a bit and be reflective. We are called to ask ourselves the difficult questions of life. Are we as close to God as we should be? What sins must we confess? What great work must Jesus do in our lives? Have we counted the cost? We are asked to give something up for Lent. Some even Fast. Is it because God enjoys it when we are uncomfortable?
Not really. We are asked to do it because a little inconvenience is good for the soul. It allows us to take our eyes off of ourselves and spend more time thinking about Jesus. It's a way for us to give God all of the good things in life, not just the bad. It's a chance to count the cost.
However you choose to observe the season of Lent, I pray it is a blessed one. I hope you are inconvenienced, at least a little bit. I hope you learn to count the cost. The Blessings you receive will be worth it.
The Rev. Dr. Brian Jones is senior pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Columbus, OH.