Description 

Theme:

The sign of the cross covers us all.

Synopsis:

• A fire glows delicately in a firepit as the flames extinguish the last of a few burning embers.
• The fire / burning footage is intercut with people receiving the imposition of ashes (sign of the cross) on their foreheads.
• Many different people receive the mark of the ashes--young, old, babies, families, etc.
• Ash Wednesday dies cinerum, “Day of Ashes” has been a Christian tradition for hundreds of years. It marks the beginning of the Lenten period and therefore the beginning of the Easter season.
• The imposition of ashes is an outer manifestation of inner repentance. Just as Job repented in “dust and ashes” (Job 42:6) when He encountered the Living God and the King of Nineveh “rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust” (Jonah 3:6), dust and ash symbolize awareness of our unworthiness before God and need for redemption. Ashes were sprinkled on those ceremonially unclean so that they would be “outwardly clean” (Hebrews 9:13), purged through repentance.          

Conversation:

• It has many meanings and applications as it reminds us of our humanity, and encourages us in repentance.
• Why is repentance a fitting harbinger of of the Easter season?
• The ashes remind us that we were formed from the dust by God's hand, and to the dust our Earthly bodies will return. Why is this creative cycle important to keep in view?
• In the film, the mark of the cross isn't withheld from anyone. Does God ever withhold His love or forgiveness?
• What does the marking of the forehead represent, both in scripture, and personally, for you?
• The imposition of the ashes somehow indicates that we are marked by the blood and forgiveness of Christ. Many Roman Catholics will wear the ashes throughout the duration of Ash Wednesday. What does this represent? What message does it send to the world?

Bible Reference:

• Genesis 3:19
• Job 42:1-6
• Psalm 51
• Song of Solomon 8:6
• Romans 8:11, 31-39

Runtime:	3:25
Genre:	Reflective