beauty for ashes


A Pilgrimage to the Cross

Walking through Lent with Jesus

Wednesday 9th March- Ash Wednesday

The Parable of the prodigal son…..

When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no-one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said….
“I will get up and go to my Father…”
                                                                                     Luke 15: 14-18

This is the moment when the prodigal son’s life changed direction. Up to this point he had been full of himself- his rights to part of his Father’s wealth, his independence, his popularity- and then his collapse, his misery, his disgrace. He is wallowing in mud- or in the imagery of Ash Wednesday, all his hopes and efforts had gone up in smoke. He was at the end of his resources, and it took until this point for him to come to the realisation that he could not do it on his own.

The prodigal son is a good companion for us as we start our journey. He reminds us that we can’t rely on our popularity, our wealth or our worldly success. We journey towards the source of real life when we say with him,
“I will get up and go to my Father.”

We can travel this way in hope, because of what our Father has promised us:

a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
                                                   Isaiah 61:3


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