Ash Wednesday: From Cheers to Jeers

From the green branches of Palm Sunday to the ashes of Lent, the Church walks a sobering path of truth and mercy. In this Ash Wednesday sermon, “From Cheers to Jeers,” we hear how quickly our cries of “Hosanna” become hearts in need of repentance - and how the Lord’s call, “Yet even now, return to Me,” is spoken to sinners who cannot fix themselves.

This message proclaims the full weight of the Law that reduces our false righteousness to ashes, and the even greater Gospel of Christ, who entered the fire of judgment in our place. Marked with the cross, our ashes are no longer a sign of despair, but of Baptism, forgiveness, and the sure promise of the resurrection.

This is a sermon about coming home - returning not to a season or a feeling, but to a gracious and merciful God who already comes to us in His Word, His absolution, and His Supper. Dust we are, yet in Christ, dust is not the end.