Christians begin their annual six-week season of preparation for Easter on Wednesday, February 18, Ash Wednesday. It is a time for self-examination and reflection on following Jesus in the way of his commandment: to love one another as he has loved us, and to be agents of godly justice who confront every form of oppression and injustice with the light that brings a greater measure of the kingdom of God into every dark corner.
Receiving a cross of ashes on one’s forehead on Ash Wednesday has become a widely recognized sign of repentance and renewed life. Yet the ashes are applied with the words, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” They are a reminder of our mortality and of the limited time we have to do God’s work as faithfully as we can according to the gifts we have been given.
For many people Lent becomes a time for giving up something—chocolate, alcohol, or certain foods. While such fasting may have personal benefits, Scripture calls us to a deeper and more demanding fast. Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God says:
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.”
William Shakespeare’s Richard III opens with the king speaking of “the winter of our discontent.” His discontent—born of ambition, resentment, and grievance—ultimately brings suffering to the entire nation. History repeatedly shows that leaders who are discontented with their place in life, regardless of their wealth or power, can inflict similar suffering on their people. We see troubling examples of this dynamic in our own time, particularly in the harsh treatment of many resident aliens living among us.
A worthy Lenten self-examination might ask what God’s word in Holy Scripture has to say about the treatment of foreigners and resident aliens. They are mentioned well over a hundred times in the Bible. At times the Scriptures tell the story of God’s own people living as resident aliens, dependent on the hospitality of others. More often the texts repeat God’s command: treat the foreigner as one of your own, “for you were once aliens in a strange land.” The failure to extend hospitality—most dramatically illustrated in the story of Sodom—invites severe judgment. The New Testament continues the same theme as the gospel moves outward into a foreign world, taking root wherever it is received with hospitality. In spite of widespread persecution it became the world largest religion but one too often observed superficially.
One of the great sins of Christian history has been the repeated failure of those who bear the name of Christ to extend the hospitality of God’s grace to strangers and outsiders. For centuries, minorities and marginalized peoples have often suffered persecution at the hands of those claiming to act in the name of Christianity while many others stood by in silence. In our own nation we again face a moment that calls Christians to raise the banner of God’s love and to confront injustice by every nonviolent means available.
In a striking coincidence this year, the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan begins on February 18, the same day Christians begin the Lenten fast. Each tradition observes fasting differently, yet both are intended to deepen repentance, self-examination, and renewed commitment to justice, mercy, and compassion. That shared moment alone may be worth reflection as we enter this season together.