Preparing for Ash Wednesday and Lent
Posted on Feb 12, 2026 by Pastor Jealaine Marple
Much like Advent, Lent is also one of my favorite seasons within the church year. Advent and Lent both have similar themes: waiting (Advent, waiting for a baby and Lent, waiting for a trial, execution, and resurrection); journey (Advent, the journey to Bethlehem from Nazareth and then the journey to the manger, and Lent the journey to the cross); and power (Advent, the “fight” for power between Herod and the infant Jesus, and in Lent, the power we must surrender as we repent and confess our sins and our own mortality).
At the same time, Lent seems like a strange thing for which to be excited anyway. When I think about all that Lent calls us to: penance, confession, giving of alms, fasting, etc. … it doesn’t seem like something party-worthy. But for me, it’s always been an occasion during which I feel called to focus and listen more closely to God, spend more purposeful time in prayer, and pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is doing. Sometimes even the best distractions keep me from this watchfulness. This is not to say that I won’t be prayerful, that my ears and heart won’t be open, that my soul won’t be waiting for the Spirit to do what the Spirit will do.
So I question about Lent (the same thing I sometimes wrestle with during Advent) is: how can we come into this season knowing what we know, experiencing what we have experienced, and yet be truthful in love with one another all while being faithful to what God has called us to do, who God has called us to be, and when/where God has called us to be?
At its heart, Lent is a season of repentance. We are invited and encouraged to return to God’s mercy and grace. Being marked with the cross of Christ, we are reminded that we belong to Christ and no sin can keep us from that. Perhaps the easiest way to walk through Lent is just to confess (even to yourself) the places where you fell short for the day. Bring to mind the places and situations where things were done (or left undone), where you did not love with your whole heart, where you did not love your neighbor as you loved yourself, and anything else that may come to mind. Then, trace a cross on your forehead and say to yourself “by God’s grace and through the power of the cross I am forgiven.”
When Lent concludes, we will mark the three days: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. We will meet at the cross. So many things have changed since the last time we found ourselves in this place last year. We’re different people. We know more. But the empty tomb gives us hope. It keeps giving us hope day after day and season after season. That’s enough for me for now.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor J