Elders Call to Prayer
Ash Wednesday 2021
God, it feels as though so much has already turned to ash.
We miss holding our loved ones close, or even just being physically in the same room.
Many of us don’t know how we are going to pay our bills or feed our children.
We mourn those we have lost and worry about those who we know are at risk.
We look for your face in the midst of the news reports and lists of statistics, and wonder where you are in all of this.
And yet we know this cannot last forever.
Your people did not wander in the desert forever. They entered the promised land and a new “normal” for life emerged, built on the experience of life before and during the wilderness years.
Your prophet Isaiah promised in your name
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion –
to bestow on them 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.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of Yahweh
for the display of God’s splendour.
We trust you for the day when we experience these things.
Give us strength, courage, resilience and patience through the power of your Holy Spirit as we enter Lent, accompanying Jesus in his own wilderness experience.
Amen
