Preparing our hearts

Have mercy on me, O God, 
    according to your steadfast love; 
according to your abundant mercy 
    blot out my transgressions. 
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 
    and cleanse me from my sin!

Psalm 51:1-2 

In worship, we prepare to receive God’s blessings by confessing our sins and receiving absolution, so that our hearts and consciences are clean, ready to receive God’s Word as it is read and proclaimed. In our Confessions, we are urged to daily come before the Lord in repentance and daily receive his grace, so that we are set free each day to love and serve God and our neighbours.  

Lent is the 40 days (excluding Sundays) leading up to Easter, when the church prepares for Jesus’ death and resurrection. Throughout scripture we see forty days as a period of preparation - Jesus' 40 days of fasting and prayer in the wilderness as he prepared for his ministry; Moses' 40 days of fasting and prayer on Mt. Sinai as he waited to receive the Law from God; and Elijah's 40 days of fasting and prayer on his way to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God. 

What is Ash Wednesday? 

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. Its name comes from the practice of marking the foreheads of worshippers with ashes in the shape of a cross. This symbolises our need for repentance, reminds us of our mortality, and proclaims the good news that sin and death have been conquered through the cross of Christ. 

Since ancient times, God’s people have used ashes as a sign of humble repentance (Jonah 3:5-9; Job 42:6; Daniel 9:3: Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13). When we willingly go up to the altar and receive ashes on our foreheads, we are admitting that we are sinners in desperate need of salvation.  

The ashes also remind us of our mortality, which is the direct result of God’s condemnation of our sin. God said to Adam, “You are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). In our sin- and death- denying culture, the ashes are a stark reminder that the wages of sin is death, and that God created man from the dust of the earth and one day all men will return to the dust. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.  

All is not lost, however. The cross-shaped ashes on our foreheads proclaim the good news that sin and death have been conquered through the cross of Christ. In receiving the ashes, we remember that Jesus took on the fullness of our humanity. He who was sinless became our sin and was crucified on a cross to pay the price for our transgressions. Jesus conquered death itself through His resurrection so that we, too, rise with him into eternal life.  

In many Lutheran Ash Wednesday services, the Lord’s Supper immediately follows the receiving of ashes. We, who were once dead in our sins, come to the Lord’s Table literally wearing the cross of Christ. In Holy Communion, humble and repentant sinners, who know they deserve death, are instead given the new life that is only found through the body and blood of our Lord Jesus. We are raised up, strengthened through God’s mercy, love, and grace, and sent forth into the world to proclaim the good news.

So how can I prepare my heart? 

The work of preparation is not something we can achieve through our own efforts. Repentance and therefore preparing our hearts is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word. Lent is not about proving how good we are so God will accept us, or about making a public show of our piety – rather it is a time of making space for God to work in our hearts.

When we slow down, when we remove distractions, when we spend time in God’s Word and talk with him, the Sower can till our fallow hearts, preparing them to take in the Word of God. Then we grow in faith, bearing fruit for the kingdom.

Through church history, Christians have practiced Lenten disciplines, which help them hold fast to God and resist the temptation to be led from his path. These disciplines include: 

• Repentance 

• Prayer 

• the Study of God’s Word 

• Fasting & Abstinence 

• Works of Love 

Over the weeks of Lent, we will delve into these disciplines. For those wishing to adopt these practices and looking for resources to help, a range of resources have been collected on our Seasonal Resources page.