Ash Wednesday, A Time for Returning

The first reading for today is taken from Joel 2:12 and it sets the whole call of this season clearly before me....." Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart..." Simple, straightforward, understandable - but ever elusive. Why should that be? I think it is because we grow comfortable in our spirituality and it is difficult to confess that we have drifted away from the Lord's presence over time, or even stubbornly stormed off over something that we counted as more important that what He had to offer. To seek to return one must first admit a wandering away, and sometimes we hold such a lofty view of our spirituality that such a confession is difficult. Yet why not? We may not be as bad as the prodigal son who squandered his father's graciousness, we may only be as bad as a sheep who in its own distraction has gone astray. But either needs to return and it does not seem God makes distinctions regarding depth of depravity....He meets the prodigal son on the road and interupts his litany of confession to embrace him with unmerited love. He seeks out that which was lost and when he returns with the one sheep he declares a feast of rejoicing. But the key is the word "whole", as in undivided, complete, nothing withheld. That type of returning is not done in one night and for that I am thankful for the 40 days of this Lenten season.