Sin and Death Dealt with on Earth, Joel 2, Matthew 6

The sin and death that is within us is something that must be dealt with on Earth. It is the problem of Earth and not that of Heaven. Thus, Jesus comes to deal with it here on Earth that we might be saved from sin and death by his death and resurrection. On Ash Wednesday, we embrace that reality and enter the season of Lent recognizing that we can’t deal with death without Jesus.

Image: The story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Hezekiah,_clouthed_in_sackcloth,_spreads_open_the_letter_before_the_Lord.jpg

Hope through an Ashen Cross, Joel 2, Matthew 6

On Ash Wednesday, we gather to get an ashen cross marked upon our foreheads. What is the purpose of this? How does it relate to our faith? What does it tell us about ourselves and the work of Christ? Father Jeremiah helps us to understand that this ashen cross directs us to the cross of Christ and the death of our old self that we might live in new life.

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