Ash Wednesday - Bible Study (2018)
The story opens as the prophet Joel calls on the people of God to declare a time of
fasting and penitence so that they will return to God. This sets the focus for our observance
of Lent. It is to be a special time to “return to God” by recalling the covenant we have with
Him and by rededicating ourselves to live in that relationship.
We are humbled in the act of accepting the imposition of ashes. We can no longer
take life for granted or assume that the world was created just for us. We are called to
“repent and live the Gospel life.” Ash Wednesday sends us out into “the wilderness” in a state of humility. The Israelites were humbled by 40 years of wandering in the desert. Jesus confronted His weaknesses and temptations during His 40 days in the wilderness. The prophets often reminded the Israelites that in forgetting the wilderness experience in which they relied on the daily manna provided by Yahewh, they drifted from the way and the covenant of the …More