First United Methodist Church Carrollton

Don't know if you saw the flap over the TV news reporter who wondered aloud on the air, "What happened to the vice president?" His forehead looked "bruised" to her. She speculated that something might have happened to him at the Olympics where he had visited the day before.

While the vice president was speaking, the reporter was apparently clued in by someone on the set that those were ashes from an Ash Wednesday service. Red-faced, she set the viewers straight and even noted that she should have known better since she is Catholic herself.

I dare say that the day before, no reporter would have misunderstood someone wearing Mardi Gras beads.

But ashes?

Sadly, I think it’s a sign of the times.

There are pieces of the Christian year that we ought not to lose sight of because they teach us what is really important. One of those is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, the period of time in which the Church historically has considered the death of Christ and our own need to die to self. As the ashes are traced on a believer’s forehead in the shape of the cross, the minister says, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." Then comes the call to conversion, "Repent and believe the gospel."

I confess that the reporter’s misunderstanding was a wake-up call for me. Perhaps next year we should have our own Ash Wednesday service and make the people you encounter wonder what’s wrong with your head. Maybe it would spark some discussion about Christ.

More importantly, it might help us all to stay on track with the call to humility before God and keep us in touch with the frailty of our lives and God’s glorious, generous invitation, "Repent and believe the gospel."