Ash Wednesday 02-18-2026

As you can imagine the daily sacrifices offered on the temple altar created a huge amount of ash, from the wood and the sacrifices themselves. And so you read in scripture of the “ash-heap” that was placed outside the camp. Occasionally a specific sacrifice was made outside the camp and its ashes were mixed with water to make holy water for cleansing rituals. It is curious that the sacrifice which made the priests holy to enter God’s presence is the sacrifice offered not on the altar but outside the camp. It’s this the Hebrew writer refers to here: And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. (Hebrews 13:12-13) Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of a 6 week journey joining with Jesus’ suffering and disgrace through which HE makes me/you/us holy! Prayer: “Lord Jesus, burn away in me that which is not like you and out of the ashes cleanse and make me holy.” PK