I’ve posted two possible children’s sermons already for the first Sunday of Lent, but I don’t plan to use either of them in the morning. Instead, I’ll be using the words below to invite the children, belatedly, into the ritual of Ash Wednesday. (Because our Ash Wednesday liturgy takes place on a weekday at noontime, there are never children present.) Like burying the alleluia, this is the second year in a row I’ve done this with the kids. Last year they were wide-eyed with wonder at the idea of actually burning the palms. “You’re only going to pretend to have fire,” one of them said, confidently, but no — with the help of a large tray of sand, a small crucible of folded aluminum foil, and a lighter, we actually burned them. (Warning if you’ve never burned palms before: they smell kind of … suspicious. Not unlike other, um, herbal materials you might have smelled burning in the past.) Be sure, of course, that the kids are standing far, far back from the burning palms and that you emphasize that they are not to try this at home! This is a good time to have another couple adults on hand to provide adequate supervision.
(Show last year’s palms.) Do you remember these? What kind of branches are these? (Palms!) Last year, on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, we had a parade with these branches. We marched around and waved our branches and shouted “Hosanna!” as we welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. It was such a happy day. Do you remember that?
Back then, the branches were green and fresh. But now - feel them - they are crunchy and dried out and turning brown. They wouldn’t make a very good parade any more. It would be a sad parade, with these dead, dry palms.
But these palms are still good for something. We can crumple them up, burn them a fire, and make ashes. Ashes are the black dust that’s left over when you have a fire. Long, long ago, ashes made people think of all the parts of their lives that were not good enough - all the parts of their own lives that seemed dusty and burned up. Maybe they felt sorry that they had said something mean to a friend. Maybe they felt sorry that they had taken something that didn’t belong to them. When they looked at the ashes, they thought about how sorry they felt. And so, to show everyone that they were sorry, they put ashes on their heads.
We are beginning a new season in our church year: the season of Lent. Lent is a time when we get ready for Easter. If we want to celebrate Easter right, if we want to be completely filled with joy and happiness, we need to be new people, filled with the new life that God gives. First, we need to look at our lives and ask if there’s anything we are doing that needs to change. If there is, we feel sorry, and we try to change our ways. God loves us so much that God helps us change into new and better people.
On the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, we gather together to tell God that we’re sorry and we want to change. As a sign, we put ashes on our foreheads, just like people did long ago. The minister draws the ashes on us in the shape of a cross, because we know that Jesus loves us always, no matter what. That’s always a good thing to remember. I’m glad we saved these old palms, so they can help us think about how much God loves us, even when we’re feeling sorry.
Today, we are going to make ashes out of these old palms out on the front steps of the church. It’s cold outside, so you can watch from inside the front door while I burn the palms. We are using real fire today. Remember, you should NEVER, EVER use real fire for ANY reason without a grown-up watching carefully. When the palms turn into ashes, if you want, I will draw a cross on your forehead, so you can show that you want to be a new person, a person who’s ready for Easter to come.
Let’s say a prayer together: Dear God - bless these palms - and bless the ashes - they will become - Help us to say - that we’re sorry - and help us - become new people. - amen.
Because surely we can do better than this.