This year for my congregation’s Ash Wednesday service I had the privilege of being the liturgist.  For Ash Wednesday the liturgist has two responsibilities:  Leading the responsive prayer of confession (or litany of penitence) and being responsible for one of the pots of ashes.  The prayer is fairly straight forward, very similar to what can be found in several book of common worship liturgies (such as the litany of penitence in this example).

The second responsibility is creating and imposing ashes at one of the two stations.  We traditionally have a long period of silence following the prayer of confession when we write our personal sins or confession on a 5×5 slip of paper.  The assurance of pardon it pronounced by the clergy as he and I burn these pieces of paper in the pots.

The symbolism is always striking, the smoke rising to heaven as our sins are reduced to ashes in front of our eyes.  And the responsibility of imposing the ashes on an individual’s forehead or hand as they came up to my station and I pronounced “Set your face towards Jesus to follow him today, this Lenten season, and beyond” was deeply moving.  (The words were used this year in reference to Luke 9:51 (particularly the NRSV or KJV) which was part of the evening’s message.)

But one additional aspect of the service struck me even more.  When we applied the flame to the stack of loosely packed pieces of paper they filled a five gallon pot almost to the brim.  By the time all the papers were consumed only a fine layer of ash remained on the bottom of the pot about 1/8th inch thick.  Not only did the fire wipe them out so they could no longer be read and the smoke carry the sacrifice to heaven, but the fire consumed the sins reducing them to next-to-nothing.  Just enough to apply to our foreheads  to carry around as a reminder of our sinfulness and the need for God’s greatness.

Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.