Ash Wednesday Services

When do you feel the closest to God? When do you feel the furthest from God? | @sanctifiedart

“Consider those first few days after you’ve lost someone and the liminality between their death and funeral. There’s no closure yet, and mornings are reminders that the nightmare is real. It’s hard to imagine how you’ll face the day. … Again and again, the sun rises on a new day, often without embrace or acknowledgment….

“Maybe by the time you’re reading this,The day will have comeFor all God’s people to be gathered at Table.Maybe by the time you’re reading this,We will be eating together.Maybe we’ll be hugging.Hopefully there will be dancingAnd laughing and kissingAnd leaning in to tell stories,And throwing our heads back to laugh.But until that day,I will wiggle…

“Despite humanity’s constant breaking of covenants, God continues to seek reconciliation and pours out grace upon grace. Why not let this grace transform us? It is in receiving God’s grace, responding in gratitude, and offering grace to others that God forms us into who we were made to be. God saves us from ourselves, writing…

“I wonder if Jesus could feel his heartbeatIn his throat, the way I do when I’m afraid.I wonder if he had to take deep breaths,In through his nose, out through his mouth,Tricking his body into a state of calm.I wonder if he was nauseous, like I amWhen I’m headed into a hard conversation.I wonder if…

“As crucifixion nears, Jesus gives his remaining disciples a commandment related to the time they’ve spent together. They’re to love one another as Jesus has loved them… How did Jesus love them? They’ll have to draw from their encounters. The acts of love and healing, the teaching, the signs and wonders—all of it needs to…