A Few Words for Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season, where repentance comes into fuller focus for the Church. The lectionary texts for Ash Wednesday include Psalm 51 and 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10. The Psalm is a prayer to the Lord for mercy, due to the fact that we are born sinners. The Psalm speaks that truth that we must be delivered from our sin by the Lord Himself; nothing we can do can save us. Only the Lord can save.

Psalm 51 therefore leads into Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where he says, “Behol...