February 2015 – A Seminarian’s Letters Home –

To the membership of Circle of Faith Parish:

Greetings to you all from Evanston, IL! Seems like we’re back in familiar territory, doesn’t it? On February 18, we come back to the place from which we try to flee, and to which we always must return – Ash Wednesday, the forty days we call Lent. Try though we may to escape this journey into the wilderness with Christ, we can’t get away from it. And it always starts with those haunting, scary words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” So much for our sharing, our rejoicing, and our fellowship now, if all we have left is to turn to dust and ashes.

Ancient Christians knew the power of ashes well, and often used them as a sign of penitence, as we do today. But they had another symbol that went with it. On many early Christian graves, you can see carvings of a mythical bird called the phoenix. According to legend, this bird, when its time came to die, would build a nest of cinnamon twigs, which it would then set on fire. From the ashes, in time, a new phoenix – a beautiful bird with spectacular red and gold feathers – would be born. One early writer named Clement of Rome said that the phoenix was put on tombs to claim our hope of resurrection. After all, he says, if a bird can live again after dying so utter a death, then why can’t we, through the grace of God?

On the night before Easter, be sure to come when Circle of Faith and Partners in Ministry celebrate together, for the first time for many of us, the liturgy we call the Easter Vigil. On that night, what begins on Ash Wednesday ends in a powerful opposite. What begins in ashes will end in new flame. What begins in desert and fasting will end in a generous splash of baptismal water, and a feast of everlasting life. What begins in silence will end in alleluia. What starts in the cold and dark of winter will find its end in the bloom of spring. You won’t want to miss something that wonderful. Until then, we face Ash Wednesday and our first steps into Lent with hope. To dust and ashes we shall return and from them, by the mercy of God, we shall, like the phoenix, rise again one day.

Walking with Christ into the Lenten desert, we pray for God’s blessing, using these words:

Merciful God, accompany our journey through these forty days. Renew us in the gift of baptism, that we may provide for those who are poor, pray for those in need, fast from self-indulgence, and above all, that we may find our treasure in the life of your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen. [ELW, Ash Wednesday]

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Your fellow member and pilgrim,

Carl P. Rabbe, M.Div.