Ash Wednesday – A, B, C

Ash Wednesday – A, B, C

Years A, B, C
Psalm 51:1-17

Here are some words you may not be familiar with. In regard to the medicinal use of hyssop: It admirably promotes expectoration through its stimulative, carminative and sudorific qualities. Included in the definitions are: expelling gas from the stomach or intestines so as to relieve flatulence or abdominal pain or distension, causing or inducing sweat, and discharging matter from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting.

When combined with a whitewashing we have internal and external cleansing, a making whole or healthy, through and through.

We yearn for a restoration of joy. It is this energy source that turns us into evangelists (in a good way - O how we yearn for the day we won't have to distinguish good from bad evangelism, but for now there is too much bad "good news-ing" that goes on). What are you most joyful about. This is what you will plant more of in the world. For a helpful reference you may want to check out Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism.

Here we are at Ash Wednesday, setting the agenda for the rest of the Lenten season - renewed health and joy. What disciplines for yourself or your congregation would be helpful this year? What will clean your insides and what your outsides?

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language can be offputting
as offputting as offputting
technical terms get bandied about
pulling the wool over some eyes
too often used approximately

this season may need plain-speaking
monosyllabic words
five syllables meaning one
hmmm, there's a long way to go to
help - way - joy