Ash Wednesday

by The Rev. Thomas L. Weitzel
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

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The Ash Wednesday Liturgy leads us into the penitential season of Lent -- a season marked by stripping away the non-essential and the unimportant, by listening in quietness to the groaning of all creation as it writhes in sinfulness, by reflecting on our own sinfulness and on God's gift of forgiveness which comes through his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

We begin the season and this liturgy with a powerful Act of Confession, greatly expanded over our usual Brief Order: a penitential Psalm, an exhortation to keep the Discipline of Lent in the struggle against sin, a public cataloging of our collective and individual wrong-doings, and the silence of self-examination and renewal. We stand before God with contrite hearts, knowing our weaknesses and failings.

At this point in most acts of confession, we receive the absolution of forgiveness. Instead, tonight we hear the words: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return," and we are so marked with the dust of ashes. The non-essential is stripped away. The unimportant is removed. In this act, we finally confess that all our finery, our clothing, our possessions, our abilities -- all that we think that makes us who we are -- is not at all who we are. We are only dust, and we stand as like beings before the Lord.

Absolution does not come this night. Our whole season of Lent will be one of repentance. Absolution will come with the Maundy Thursday supper of love. And yet God would not leave us without an encouraging word: "The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ does not desire the death of sinners...." We ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for true repentance.

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ORDER FOR WORSHIP

Prelude & Silent Meditation

Psalm 51:      Stand

The minister sings the first verse, then all sing the rest of the Psalm

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your 'lovingkindness;*
     in your great compassion blot out 'my offenses.

Wash me through and through 'from my wickedness,*
     and cleanse me 'from my sin.

For I know 'my transgressions,*
     and my sin is ev 'er before me.

Against you only 'have I sinned*
     and done what is evil 'in your sight.

And so you are justified 'when you speak*
     and upright 'in your judgment.

Indeed, I have been wicked 'from my birth,*
     a sinner from my 'mother’s womb.

For behold, you look for truth 'deep within me,*
     and will make me understand 'wisdom secretly.

Purge me from my sin, and I 'shall be pure;*
     wash me, and I shall be 'clean indeed.

Make me hear of  'joy and gladness,*
     that the body you have broken 'may rejoice.

Hide your face 'from my sins,*
      and blot out all 'my iniquities.

Create in me a clean 'heart, O God,*
      and renew a right spir 'it within me.

Cast me not away 'from your presence,*
      and take not your Holy 'Spirit from me.

Give me the joy of your saving 'help again,*
      and sustain me with your boun 'tiful Spirit.

I shall teach your ways 'to the wicked,*
      and sinners shall re 'turn to you.

Deliver me from 'death, O God,*
      and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
      O God of  'my salvation.

Open my 'lips, O Lord,*
      and my mouth shall pro 'claim your praise.

Had you desired it, I would have 'offered sacrifice,*
      but you take no delight 'in burnt-offerings.

The sacrifice of God is a 'troubled spirit;*
      a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will 'not despise.

Be favorable and gra 'cious to Zion,*
      and rebuild the walls 'of Jerusalem.

Then you will be pleased with the appointed sacrifices,
with burnt-offerings 'and oblations;*
      then shall they offer young bullocks up 'on your altar.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 'Holy Spirit:*
      as it was in the beginning, is now,
      and will be forev 'er. Amen

P.  Brothers and sisters: God created us to experience joy in communion with him, to love all humanity, and to live in harmony with all of his creation. But sin separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, and so we do not enjoy the life our Creator intended for us. Also, by our sin we grieve our Father, who does not desire us to come under his judgment, but turn to him and live. As disciples of the Lord Jesus we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from love of God and neighbor. Repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love -- the discipline of Lent -- help us to wage our spiritual warfare. I invite you, therefore, to commit yourselves to this struggle and confess your sins, asking our Father for strength to persevere in your Lenten discipline.

Silence for reflection and self-examination.

The Confession:

P. Most Holy and merciful Father:

C. We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

P. We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.

C. Have mercy on us, Lord.

P. We have been deaf to your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.

C. Have mercy on us, Lord.

P. We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness. The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives,

C. we confess to you, Lord.

P. Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,

C. we confess to you, Lord.

P. Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,

C. we confess to you, Lord.

P. Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,

C.  we confess to you, Lord.

P. Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,

C. we confess to you, Lord.

P. Accept our repentance, Lord for the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,

C. accept our repentance, Lord.

P. For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,

C. accept our repentance, Lord.

P. For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,

C. accept our repentance, Lord.

P. Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us.

C. Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is great. Amen

Sit

The Imposition of Ashes:

Those who wish to receive ashes come forward and kneel before the altar. The ministers apply ashes to the forehead of each person with the words:

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

After all have received ashes and returned to their places,
all stand and continue

P. Accomplish in us, O God, the work of your salvation,

C. that we may show forth your glory in the world.

P. By the cross and Passion of your Son, our Lord,

C. bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

The minister addresses the congregation.

P. Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, does not desire the death of sinners, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live. Therefore we implore him to grant us true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that those things may please him which we do on this day, that the rest of our life may be pure and holy, and that at the last we may come to his eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

C. Amen

Period of Silence

Prayer of the Day:

P. Let us pray. Almighty and ever-living God, you hate nothing you have made and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent.  Create in us new and honest harts, so that, truly repenting of our sins, we may obtain from you, the God of all mercy, full pardon and forgiveness; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C. Amen     Sit

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LITURGY OF THE WORD

Announcements

First Lesson: Isaiah 58:1-22

Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with wicked fist. Such fasting as your do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

The word of the Lord.
C. Thanks be to God.

Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As we work together with him, we urge you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, "At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see -- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The word of the Lord.
C. Thanks be to God.

Verse: "Return to the Lord"

Gospel Lesson: St. Matthew 6:1-6,16-21

P. The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the sixth chapter.
C. Glory to you, O Lord!

Jesus said to the disciples: "Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

P. The Gospel of the Lord!
C. Praise to you, O Christ!

Sermon

Period of Silence

Hymn of the Day #306 "Chief of Sinners Though I Be"

Prayer of the Church & Peace

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LITURGY OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

Offering

Offertory Hymn #408:1 "God, Whose Giving Knows"

Offertory Prayer: "Blessed are you..."

Great Thanksgiving (spoken)

Eucharistic Prayer III (Altar Book only)

Our Father (sung)     Page 112

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At the Breaking of Bread:

P. This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.

C. We do not presume to come to your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy to gather up the crumbs under your table. But you are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ, and so to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us. Amen

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Distribution: "Lamb of God" (seated)

Grace after Communion

Post-Communion Prayer

Benediction & Dismissal

Closing Hymn #99:1 "O Lord, Throughout These 40 Days"

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Acknowledgments:  The opening portion of the liturgy for Ash Wednesday, the Prayer of the Day and the response At the Breaking of Bread ("Prayer for Humble Access") are from the Lutheran Book of Worship: Ministers Desk Edition, 1978 Augsburg Pub.

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