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| Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church (Albuquerque) |
To the proud and the haughty,
To the bruised and the broken,
The prophet lifts up the trumpet of God.
The prophet declares the judgment of God.
To the impatient and smug,
To the sad and discouraged,
The prophet shouts out
The Word of God.
To some, words of comfort;
To some, words of challenge.
God speaks of rebellion in the form of a turn--
A sharp turn from righteousness into ritual.
To those home from exile,
To those living in ruin,
God offers a way,
A way back into righteousness:
Leave that sackcloth behind.
Wash those ashes off your face.
God does not call for stoic denial;
A tender heart is what God seeks.
Leave that sackcloth behind.
Wash those ashes off your face.
This is not the fast that God desires,
This is not the fast we’re called to keep.
Don’t beat your chest.
Don’t wail or moan.
This is not the fast that God desires.
This is not the fast we’re called to keep.
It’s not about you; it’s not about me.
It’s not about our solemn ways.
It’s about our sense of us
Our common kin and our connectedness.
 Chris Jacobsen made this cross at Art Street |
Ashes to ashes
Dust to dust
Again and again
Our Ash Wednesday refrain.
Ashes to ashes,
Dust to dust,
Words to remind us
That we are one.
“Loose the bonds; undo the thongs,”
“Share your bread;” God says to us.
This is the fast God chooses for us.
This is the turn into righteousness.
Commitment for life
Not just for a season.
Work harder by far
Than ashes and sackcloth.
The work of repairer,
The way of restorer:
Healing the breach,
Making safe the street.
Today we’re invited to a holy Lent—
To walk the way of righteousness; to do the works of justice.
This is the fast God calls us to.
This is the fast God chooses for us.
God—to whom we’ve always belonged;
God to whom we’re called to turn.
Remember that we are God’s
And to God we shall return.-
-Rev. Susan Allison-Hatch
(The author is a priest at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, where she leads the Live at Five bicultural service. She is also chaplain at St. Martin's Hospitality Center and was recently been appointed Missioner to the Poor and People Living on the Street for the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande).
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