Inconvenient Symbols?
Carnival is over. From today we will hear in the Church: " Remember You are Dust and to Dust You Shall Return" and ashes will be sprinkled on our heads. After all, it is a strange custom, rather reminiscent of medieval rituals, althoughwe already are in the 21st Century. Surely at one time in an age of witchcraft and superstition people saw some value in it, but now what does this mean? How can today's man, who has such great knowledge, achievements of technology and science be equated with ashes? Isn't that too humiliating and pessimistic?
Ashes is very strange sign. It makes us tremble because it reminds us of dying, of inevitable death, of the fragility of humanity. Sometimes one would like to change its meaning. However, is the meaning of ash so far from us? Take a look at your life! Do you not experience your insignificance in the boredom of everyday life, in disappointments that meet you from everywhere - from your relatives and friends, in the nonsense and monotony of work, in suffering, fears and weaknesses? We will hear this truth continually throughout our life — not only in church rituals.
But fear not - the sign of the cross on our forehead shows that we are not only people of death but also of salvation. God did not leave us alone. He also sprinkled ash on himself. He became a man equal to all of us. He fell on his face on the ground, which was swallowed his tears and blood. Christ did not save us from flesh and dust, but through flesh and dust. It is this mystery that the Church wants to remind us of today. Do not just stop at Ash Wednesday, look at Good Friday and Easter, then you will understand this "strange" ceremony.
We sometimes make austerities and resolutions at the beginning of Lent. It is worth asking ourselves what they are for - do they really help us to "tear our heart", change the way we think and make decisions ... or maybe they only serve our complacency? Maybe first, before we ask ourselves what we want to change in our life - it is worth asking what God wants to change in our life.
God wants our happiness. He wants us to be happy. The greatest misfortune in our life is sin which destroys our relationship with God and other people. It also destroys us internally; it prevents us from feeling the joy of life and harmony. Sin is not only moral evil - but the Bible also uses the term "hemartia", which means missing the target. We can even aim for good things in life and miss the target. God's Word continually calibrates our spiritual viewfinder. Because God wants our happiness.
Therefore, let this word of God "tear up" the usual patterns of our thought in this Lent, let it embarrass us, sometimes hurt us. If our heart is "tear up", we will find a new quality of life, harmony. Everything is going to change.