Today is Ash Wednesday - the first day of the season of Lent. Today many Christians gather to remember death. In a culture that is skittish (to say the least) about death, this is a daring thing. But we gather to make this common reality check because it is good for our souls.

Today's remembrance of death is twofold. We remember our own death and we launch a 40 day journey to Jerusalem to remember the cross. Here is why we remember both:

We cannot comprehend the cross without facing the haunting reality of our own mortality.
We cannot face the haunting reality of our own mortality without comprehending the cross.

If you are celebrating Lent, may this Lent be holy. May we remember that we came from dust and to dust we will return. Not to be be morbid, but to take seriously the sober reality of mortality and to simltaneously grasp the wondrous of mercy of God in the cross.