Black Lives Matter.
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

NC Council of Churches

Strength in Unity, Peace through Justice

  • Voices
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Members
    • Covenant Partners
    • Issue Statements
    • Governing Board
  • Programs
    • Ecumenical Immigration Alliance
      • Ideas for Action
      • Sign Our Statement
      • The NC Sanctuary Coalition
      • Immigration Bible Study
      • Contact
    • NC Interfaith Power & Light
      • NCIPL Overview
      • Faith in Action NCIPL
      • NCIPL Articles
      • NCIPL Resources
      • Upcoming Events for NCIPL
      • Contact NCIPL
    • Partners in Health & Wholeness
      • PHW Staff
      • Mini-Grants
      • PHW Collaborative Pledge
      • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
      • PHW Articles
      • FAQs
  • Priorities
    • Racial Justice
    • The Overdose Crisis: The Faith Community Responds
    • Gun Violence Prevention
    • Public Education
    • NC Sanctuary Coalition
    • Farmworkers
    • Legislative Advocacy
    • Christian Unity
    • Peace
    • NC No Torture
  • COVID-19 Resources
  • Events
  • Resources
    • Publications & Reports
    • Raleigh Report
    • Lectionary
    • Sermons
  • Donate
  • Council Store
  • Show Search

Search NC Council of Churches

Hide Search

2021 Lenten Guide- Ash Wednesday

North Carolina Council of Churches · February 15, 2021 · 1 Comment

Excerpted from Enough for All, a Lenten Guide for Lectionary Year B from the North Carolina Council of Churches. Written by Andrew Whitworth, Duke Divinity School Intern, Summer of 2020 to Spring 2021


Isaiah 58:1-12

Shout out, do not hold back!
   Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
   to the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet day after day they seek me
   and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
   and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgements,
   they delight to draw near to God.
‘Why do we fast, but you do not see?
   Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day,
   and oppress all your workers.
Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
   and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
   will not make your voice heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
   a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
   and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
   a day acceptable to the Lord?


Is not this the fast that I choose:
   to loose the bonds of injustice,
   to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
   and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
   and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
   and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
   and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
   the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
   you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from among you,
   the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
   and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
   and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
   and satisfy your needs in parched places,
   and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
   like a spring of water,
   whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
   you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
   the restorer of streets to live in.


Most years, I am relieved when Ash Wednesday rolls around. As a society, we so rarely take time collectively to acknowledge that we are all, in one way or another, closer to our deaths today than we were yesterday. I usually find the chance to do this together uniquely moving.

This year, though, I do not need Ash Wednesday to be a collective reminder of our mortality. In some ways, the Covid-19 pandemic has made it difficult to feel like last year’s Lenten observance ever really ended. We feel isolated, tired, powerless, grieved, always staring down the reality that we are but dust. The observance of Ash Wednesday seems gratuitous in days so marked by the shadow of death and the pains of isolation. 

The prophet Isaiah changed my mind, though. In Isaiah 58, the prophet speaks on God’s behalf to Israel, reminding them that they have forgotten the point of their fasting and religious observance. They reflect and acknowledge, pray and perform, and yet change nothing about their lives and their communities. “Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” asks God. God’s question to Israel is also a question to us. What is the point of our religious observance if it does not bring us to repent both of the things we have done and the things done on our behalf and move us to find solidarity with our neighbors? 

Ash Wednesday is not just about being a little sadder than we usually are. Simply reflecting on our own frailty will not bring us closer to God. Rather, it’s a reminder and an invitation to something. Isaiah reminds us that God is not interested in our sober performance of Lent for its own sake. “Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high,” the prophet says. The point is that we would change our lives! Our Ash Wednesday and Lenten observance should move us, towards God and towards each other. The call to us this Ash Wednesday and Lenten season is a call to humility, a call to remember what kind of creatures we are. We are all but dust and to dust we shall return. 

To acknowledge this is to acknowledge that we are not God, over our own lives or our neighbors. Too often, though, this is what we humans do with power. We try to play God, determining who deserves food, healthcare, housing, voting rights, and the list could go on. But if Lent is to be a fast that is pleasing to God, bringing true repentance, then it begins with our Ash Wednesday acknowledgement that we are all dust. None of us deserve these things more than anyone else. Before our light can “break forth like the dawn,” out of Ash Wednesday, Lent, and season of Covid-19, then we must hear God’s words in Isaiah as if to us: 

Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Filed Under: Blog, Homepage Featured

North Carolina Council of Churches

About North Carolina Council of Churches

The Council enables denominations, congregations, and people of faith to individually and collectively impact our state on issues such as economic justice and development, human well-being, equality, compassion and peace, following the example and mission of Jesus Christ. Learn more about our work here: www.ncchurches.org/about

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarMary Witherspoon says

    February 19, 2021 at 5:43 pm

    Thank you so much for this. The NC Council of Churches and the staff are a blessing to me and our state.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Anonymous comments or comments that target individuals will not be posted (please include your first and last name). All comments must be on topic and respectful. Comments will not be posted until they have been reviewed by a moderator. Comments do not reflect the positions of the NC Council of Churches.

Footer

Contact

NC Council of Churches
27 Horne St.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 828-6501
info@ncchurches.org

Facebook

Partners in Health and Wholeness

Featured

2021 Lenten Guide- Ash Wednesday

Latest Tweets

Moving away from fossil fuels is vital to loving our neighbor! Say so during the public hearing on the @DukeEnergy IRP on March 16th. Register today: dukesenergyplan.org/… pic.twitter.com/FD9u…

About a day ago

The #ForThePeopleAct (#HR1) just passed in the #House! We are one step closer to: ✅ Protect the freedom to vote ✅ Ensure the integrity of our elections ✅ Hold elected officials accountable ✅ End the era of big money in our politics pic.twitter.com/Mkhb…

About 2 days ago

"One day when the glory comes It will be ours, it will be ours" - John Legend, "Glory" Read our resolution at the link >> ncchurches.org/2021/… pic.twitter.com/y9Vs…

About 2 days ago

"Our knowing that divine reality exists gives us permission to be humble, gentle, and kind." Read more from Susannah Tuttle and her reflection for the third Sunday in Lent. >> ncchurches.org/2021/… pic.twitter.com/cEzo…

About 2 days ago

Read or listen to this article from @PNS_News about a new data dashboard in North Carolina that would help local county officials better allocate vaccines to where they're needed most. Follow the link to find out more >> publicnewsservice.or…

About 3 days ago

Follow @ncchurches

Latest Tweets

Glad to be on this journey with you! Another workweek in the books and another reason to be proud 💪 twitter.com/StampSti…

About a day ago

#harmreduction is love. twitter.com/HarmRedu…

About 3 days ago

RT @WakeMed Today marks one year since our state’s first #COVID19 case. #WakeMed staff, visitors and patients observed a #momentofsilence to honor the legacy of those we've lost and reflect on the strength and compassion of every essential worker, patient and family as we begin to heal. pic.twitter.com/E92V…

About 3 days ago

Dr. Satcher questioned the structures that have upheld health disparities in our communities. By laying the foundation for this work, we can continue taking meaningful action towards promoting a society where we can all thrive. #BlackHistoryMonth @HHSGov @Surgeon_General pic.twitter.com/zrw2…

Last week

Amen! #MindfulTogether twitter.com/cornerpr…

Last week

Follow @healthandfaith

Latest Tweets

RT @CUREriver The bankruptcy filing by Brazos could destabilize the entire REC systems. The U.S. need to take action to avoid this in other places. We need to make investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and grid modernization right now. #RuralPower ow.ly/6Erz50DMYPJ

About 2 days ago

RT @greenthechurch Be sure to read Green The Church's COO Kim Noble's op ed, "#EnvironmentalJustice in Focus this #BlackHistoryMonth", in the Texas Metro News! @Kimrenay22 #Austin #DFW #Houston #Texas #SanAntonio #EJ ow.ly/mOtw50DGQnN pic.twitter.com/IPOO…

Last week

RT @ActionAidUSA To build a truly just, equitable & sustainable world, we need to fight for a new #socialcontract. That means: ✔️ Defending democracy ✔️ Fighting for climate justice ✔️ Building equitable food systems ✔️ Supporting women’s leadership. Learn more: bit.ly/2M8xT40 pic.twitter.com/fEWv…

Last week

RT @interfaithpower IPL is proud to be a signer on this letter. The U.S. must provide bold and socially just leadership to protect our communities from the impacts of climate change, including the threats to our economy- @sbhendershot twitter.com/RealBank…

Last week

RT @interfaithpower "This is all of our country, this is our mother. It's difficult to not feel obligated to protect this land" - @DebHaalandNM with a powerful reminder of what she believes in. Her passion is exactly what we need right now; the Senate must #ConfirmHaaland! #ConfirmClimate

Last week

Follow @ncipl

Latest Tweets

Copyright © 2021 NC Council of Churches · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design · Hosted by WP Engine