Tonight we come together to begin a journey, an ancient and sacred journey and one that we walk each year…the path that follows Christ through temptation…life….and death… into glorious resurrection, from humanities self centered blindness to its redemption through grace. We begin with the sign of ashes.   Ashes are a sign of our mortality…a sign of our frailty…and not just the frailty of our flesh and bones…but the frailty of our spirit.    We hear in the letter of Paul tonight the expectation that we foster the life of the Spirit, that we work on our relationships with God and neighbour and ourselves.  That we commend ourselves in everyway…that we bear the fruit of the spirit.  That in the face of affliction, hardship, sleepless nights and through all our labours …we are called to purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love and truthful speech… All virtues that we too often lack, both individually and corporately as the church, especially in the face of hardship and overwork. Furthermore, Paul reveals to us the great paradox that is the church in the world…that what people see as frailty and weakness can mislead.   That the life of the body and the life of the Spirit can be two separate things, but that through God these differences can be reconciled and bring us closer to God and one another.       Paul says that, at the same time, we can be seen as imposters, yet be true, as unknown, yet be well known, as dying and yet alive, as suffering, yet not killed, as pitiful, yet rejoicing, as poor and having nothing, yet possessing all that matters and making many rich. It is not what we seem to be, but what we really are that matters…the true life of the Spirit,… like the widow giving her last penny…it may not seem like much on the surface, but in truth it was amazingly generous.  Despite all the hardships we endure, the troubles we face…we still have the means and opportunities…in fact the calling to be rejoicing, alive and enriching the world around us. God embraced the frailty and mortality of human life and then transcended it,   so that we would have the opportunity to do the same.  So that each of us and the church itself could, by grace, be redeemed and perfected. But, we are not perfect yet…nor do we act as ones redeemed.  So, there is a need for the sign of ashes, a need to remind ourselves and each other that we are mortal, that we are frail and that we have a need to repent and try once more to commend ourselves in everyway, to live out our lives, as we are called to. We have need of this symbol and reminder both individually and corporately.     We as a greater church have not always commended ourselves.  We as a church look inwards, rather than outwards…  seeking not God’s will, but ours.  We focus on our hardships and afflictions, our dying, our sorrow, our nothingness…rather than seeking purity, holiness and love. So, we as a church come together annually in a season of penitence, fasting, prayer and charitable works…wearing the sign of ashes to recall that we are in need of forgiveness and reconciliation. So now we are called to return, to repent, to spend this time of Lent in honest reflection of how we are living our lives, individually and corporately.  To realize on where our priorities are and where Christ figures in our lives.  To meditate on our mortality and frailty, so that we can see ourselves as we truly are…warts and all, and, we are called to do this through fasting, prayer, meditation, good works, a spirit of penitence…and a spirit of humility.  Although Jesus may be somewhat exaggerating in our Gospel when he speaks of not sounding trumpets when you give to charities …his point is clear.  Your personal repentance is between you and God, the need for the church’s repentance may be less private or at least more corporate, but it still isn’t for show.  As Joel says…we are called to rend our hearts, not our clothing.  The true signs of repentance and penitence are not ones you can see, but the change of heart that accompany them.  The ways that we commend ourselves in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love and truthful speech.  The ways that we live out our lives in Christ rejoicing in poverty and making many rich, as we have nothing. We come together this night as a community, to begin to take a good look at ourselves and our church…to begin our Lenten journey with the sign of ashes.  A sign and symbol for one another …to remind us, as a community, that we need to take a hard look at ourselves and see where the dirt is, so that we can confess, repent and come clean. Because that is the true goal…the ashes, the penitence and even repentance isn’t an end unto itself, but they are supports and guides on the way.  Lent is a path, not a destination…our goal is Christ…our destination is Easter. Regardless of what we see in ourselves or in our church in this time of self-examination…regardless of what it is that we are repenting of…if we are committed and steadfast…if we seek to change our hearts and not just our clothing, then we are sure of our reward.   The Psalmist says it best…the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…he does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love.  And that is why by the power of God we can commend ourselves as Paul calls us to…that is how we are redeemed… by grace and love…that is the reason the season of Lent is only a road to Easter…a way to prepare ourselves to receive that steadfast love that is manifest in the resurrection of Christ…and his gift of eternal life to each of us.             Amen.