Life and Death Co-mingled

Well, today's the day. It's time to enter into my Lenten Discipline. As always, I approach the day with much trepidation. Will I be able to fulfill the fast which I have chosen? Will I be able to narrow my focus so that God can enlarge my soul? All of these questions remain to be answered and so I take my first step into a new day.

Preparing for Ash Wednesday is my first ecclesiastical duty of the day. Co-mingled on the altar are the elements of communion; bread and cup, sign and symbol of life and a bowl of ashes; sign and symbol of death. It is almost as if these three simple elements are echoing the feelings in my conflicted Lenten soul. Life and death co-mingled. I welcome the anticipation that I am feeling, knowing that a great adventure awaits.

Travelling with The Seven Deadly Sins will also be a part of my Lenten Discipline. This week, I have been wrestling with PRIDE which has been considered to be the root of all evil. How often it has raised its ugly head as I have contemplated its grip on my soul. I find myself tossed to and fro as I consider the life-giving qualities of Pride -- a healthy esteem, a sense of "self-worth. How I glow with pride as I see my daughters maturing into young ladies. How I burst with pride as I watch my church family living out the Gospel. But pride becomes a problem when we think of ourselves as the Creator rather than the creature. When we worship our children or church rather than God.

In "Sinning Like a Christian" Will Willimon writes, "Perhaps the Fathers of the Church called Pride the chief sin, the very first sin, in an admirable honest attempt to address that particular sin of "good" people first, the sin one most likely would find hanging out at the church, the sin most likely to breed among the faithful, good people...." pg. 45

My mind returns to my morning duties: the bread, the cup, the ashes...life and death co-mingled.