Ash Wednesday is the first day of the season of Lent, in the Christian liturgical calendar.  The season continues for the forty days until Easter (not counting the Sundays).  The spiritual purpose of Lent is for a person to take time in self-examination, admitting the truth of our human condition, our limitations, the places we are inevitably less than perfect, and also to purify ourselves through sacrifice and fasting (“giving up” something), all to arrive at Easter, penitent and humble, ready to receive the divine gift of new life.

I appreciate the generally optimistic view of humanity in our Unitarian Universalist theology.  I appreciate being assured of my worth, my dignity, my potential and power.  But I appreciate, also, the spiritual reminder of our human limits.  Ash Wednesday, speaks to our biggest limitation, that we are mortal.

I often say that Unitarian Universalists believe that we are good enough, strong enough, and wise enough, to make lives of health and joy for ourselves and each other and the world we share.  I believe that truly, but I also know that we are not entirely good, completely powerful, or all wise.  Recognizing the limits of our morals, our strength, and our smarts is important if we are to make sense of human events like Russia’s current action in Ukraine or what we can do in response.

Our reality-based religion requires us to acknowledge the places where humanity falls short of our ideals as well as where we succeed.