Bethany Lutheran Church

We live in a culture that is obsessed with moving up and to the right. As the season of Lent begins we pause to remember that from the dust we have come and to the dust we shall return. There is no escaping death. The smearing of ashes on our foreheads reminds us of this sobering reality. At the same time, the sign of the ash cross that marks our foreheads also invites us to long for and hope for the day when Jesus will return to make all things new. But til that day we are called to prepare ourselves as we faithfully follow Jesus in life and death.Genesis 3:19By the sweat of your face    you shall eat bread,till you return to the ground,    for out of it you were taken;for you are dust,    and to dust you shall return.”Joel 2:12-19“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,    “return to me with all your heart,with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;    and rend your hearts and not your garments.”Return to the Lord your God,    for he is gracious and merciful,slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;    a