Day 1—Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Ezekiel 36:24-26

For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

I had the good fortune of going to New Orleans at the end of February this year to celebrate my oldest sister’s birthday with my siblings (there are five of us) and our spouses. We had a blast. We talked a lot, laughed a lot, ate too much, and drank more than we should. The Mardi Gras season is infectious! I started thinking about this festive season leading up to Lent, and wondered if on Ash Wednesday, is Bourbon Street suddenly a ghost town? At least for a couple days, maybe? I wandered into an art gallery in the French Quarter and there was a little print that said “Sin, Repent, Repeat.” I thought – “I should hang that on my wall!” as I chuckled to myself. It got me thinking about all the seasons that I use as opportunities for a fresh start; such as January 1 and New Year’s resolutions, Lent, even September when summer is over and school starts feels like a time of renewal to me. And then the print wasn’t as funny anymore. It just seemed like a sad cycle.

But this passage is written to give us much hope! Ezekiel was called by God to prophesy to the Israelites during their Babylonian exile. He is delivering them a promise of restoration and renewal; it is a very hopeful message to a people under the captivity of the Babylonians.

When I fail to keep my New Year’s resolutions, my Lenten promises; when I can’t seem to cleanse myself of my impurities; God is there to pick me up so I can try again. And I don’t have to wait until January 1st, or Ash Wednesday, or Labor Day weekend or any other season. God and this message of hope is available to all of us any day we want it or need it, and as many times as it takes. That is incredibly hopeful!

My prayer for us all today is this: Dear God, take my sins, take my impurities, take my pride and selfish ways, and give me a new heart and a new spirit today. Help me do the best that I can do today, and when I call on you tomorrow morning, help me do it again.

-Helen Favor