I read Brian Coulter's Ash Wednesday meditation "Mortality"as found in Journal for Preachers, Vol XLIX, Number 2 for Lent 2026, which led to many reflections on Ash Wednesday and how I have celebrated Ash Wednesday in years past. It was a wonderful time of reflection with lots of memories. I did not mention it in the sermon, but one of my favorite memories was having people gather to walk a labyrinth, do a devotional as they reflected on the experience, and then receive ashes in a "come and go" approach we used at the church I served previously. I have noticed through the years that Ash Wednesday is also a day when people seek out the church so they can experience the imposition of ashes.
“The Black Cross” Joel 2: 1-2; 12-17; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; Feb 18, 2026
Joel 2: 1-2; 12-17
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near—
2
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains,
a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come.Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting from punishment.
14
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
15
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16
gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her canopy.
17
Between the vestibule and the altar,
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.
Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and do not make your heritage a mockery,
a byword among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
Introduction: Ash Wednesday always has me in a reflective mood.
Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return
Powerful words to ponder.
I usually move into my reflective mode as I watch the dried out palms from last year go up in flame to be ashes for this year.
Something about seeing that transformation - the long green branches, reduced to gray ashes
Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Move 1: through the years, I have done the imposition of ashes in different worship settings,
at different times of day,
in different places.
This morning, my day started with a photo arriving on my phone from my daughter.
she was doing “ashes to go” at the Ballston Metro station in DC for the morning commuter crowd.
the photo showed her signing the ashes on a young woman whom I had baptized and confirmed in OH, who now lives in DC and got her ashes to go on the way to work.
when we imposes ashes tonight, we join in a tradition of the church that traces back centuries.
generation after generation people have begun Lent by having a black cross signed in their foreheads
to acknowledg their sinfulness and need for repentance,
to face their mortality
to turn in repentance and hope to the God who breathed the breath of life into the dust of the earth
to turn to the God of resurrection who will receive them at their death
Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return!
Move 2: I was driving through the UNT campus today and saw multiple students walking down the sidewalks with black crosses on their foreheads.
the prophet Joel calls for the trumpet to blare so that all the inhabitants of the land to listen:
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the aged;
gather the children,
even infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her canopy.
All of us need to hear it again:
As the Apostle Paul writes: “to live is to die”
None of us escape our mortality.
Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return
Move 3: The prophet Joel calls us to repent and live new lives:
Live in ways that work to loose the bonds of injustice,
join in the struggles to undo the straps of the yoke,
lead the charge to let the oppressed go free,
be at work to break every yoke?
From whatever vantage point you look at the world, you no doubt see and feel the need for things to change.
Joel gives us all the direction in which we need to go - reaching out to others with justice and hope.
It is not just a matter of changing our actions, but changing our hearts.
the prophet Joel reminds us that God makes it a matter of the heart.
return to me with all your heart,
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
the Lenten journey that begins with a black cross marked on our foreheads calls us to a change of heart and new life.
Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.
Amen.
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