February 14, 2024 ASH WEDNESDAY

Today's Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 

Jesus said, "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 

"So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

Reflection by The Rev. Melody Rockwell 

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. 

…did you not know 

what the Holy One 

can do with dust? 

This is the day 

we freely say 

we are scorched. 

This is the hour 

we are marked 

by what has made it 

through the burning. 

This is the moment 

we ask for the blessing 

that lives within 

the ancient ashes, 

that makes its home 

inside the soil of this sacred earth. 

So let us be marked 

not for sorrow. 

and let us be marked 

not for shame. 

Let us be marked 

not for false humility 

or for thinking 

we are less 

than we are 

but for claiming 

what God can do  

within the dust, 

within the dirt, 

with the stuff 

of which the world 

is made 

and the stars that blaze 

in our bones 

and the galaxies that spiral 

inside the smudge 

we bear. 

• …excerpt from “Blessing the Dust for Ash Wednesday” by Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons