Ashes to Go with Pastor Darin

(along with +Martin Luther+ as a silent partner) - 18 February 2026

Agape’s SDSU team marked Ash Wednesday with ashes to passers-by who accepted our open invitation on the lawn near South Campus Plaza. Simultaneously, Torrey, our greyhound, and I planted ourselves under the welcome sun by the fountain on Library Walk to offer the same at UC San Diego… No lunch, no drinks, no bean bags to rest on…just Presence…and ashes…lovably weird in context, I’d say–or “good wyrd” as Stuart Davis might say (look that up). A handful approached to spend time resetting their sympathetic nervous systems by petting Torrey a while, some opening up about the recent loss of a pet or wrestling over whether to drop out. Most came just for the ashes, but many, many for conversation.

Today’s fast turned on a dime from yesterday’s feast of pancakes for Mardi Gras (or Shrove Tuesday), paired with the gift of plants from Hillel, honoring the Jewish “birthday” of all fruit trees on Tu Bishivat. And Tuesday was also the lunar new year–a huge day for many cultures. A wonderful thing about campus ministry is the manifold interactions of cultures, religions, identities, and more; so when seasonal traditions overlap, it’s an easy opportunity to get to know more neighbors! 

This year Ash Wednesday was also the first day of the Muslim fast of Ramadan–two seasons of fasting kicked off on the same day (technically, the sunset before is the start of an Islamic day), a chance to greet Muslim students with a familiar blessing of “Ramadan Mubarak!” Coming from one wearing a cross and a clerical collar raised smiles, some eyebrows, and many asked, “What are the ashes for?”

“I’m glad you asked!” says I… Lent means “Spring” and connects us with Jesus’ 40 days of testing and discernment after being “driven by the Spirit into the wilderness” right before starting his ministry of healing, feeding, and setting people free. Ashes on the head are an ancient sign of humility and repentance, noting that our mortal existence means that life is precious, so today is the day to turn in the direction of love, life, hope, faith, and freedom.

Lent observers know the tradition of a fast as refraining from a meal or an activity that might have become less than life-giving. A few dozen came near to receive ashes saying, “Oh good! Services didn’t work for my class schedule, but I wanted to receive ashes.” Several were eager to go ‘on the record’ professing their fast from social media–sometimes a gentle accountability to self (and to God?) comes along with voicing your intention in the world. Even the option to abstain from something can be liberating: “Oh yeah, I guess I do have a choice!” No pressure, no guilt, or, as a few students asked, “What do I have do first? Is there any requirement?” “Nope! Just making it a little easier bringing ashes to you.”

As the trees budded around us, we marked the coming of spring (“Lent”)–not only for the trees, but also for you and me! 

What do you find life-giving or life-renewing? 

And what might you leave behind to make room for that in your life?

After planning many of my own fasts for Lent (and failing not a few), lately I have been listening to others on Ash Wednesday for hints to discern my own choice, realizing that what matters is not the to-do (or not-to-do) list but the opportunity to choose. 

Talmudic scholars interpret the story of Adam and Eve with the talking serpent and the forbidden fruit of the tree of judging between good and evil – not as “the fall,” but rather – as the birth of human freedom–an intriguing contrast to the Western Augustinian idea of ‘original sin’ that completely forgot God’s original blessing on humanity, “It is very good!” (tov-tov in Hebrew, meaning “doubly good”). Encounters with our spiritual cousins can also be liberating…

• What if our opinions on good and evil have more to do with our personal bias than the cherry-picked verses we turn into ammo? 

• What if God knows better than we do what is healthy or unhealthy for us? How do we learn?

• And what if God leaves a great many choices up to us? 

• Might God trust us more than we trust ourselves, or more even than we have earned (none)?

As hinted by the title above, this Ash Wednesday also coincided with the day to remember Martin Luther (as if there were not enough colliding commemorations)! As an Augustinian monk, young Marty obsessively feared the fate of his mortal soul at the thought he might forget one of his slip-ups in his compulsively frequent confessions. Finally, the legend goes that his literal constipation was relieved at the very moment his insight as a biblical scholar finally connected his overwhelming dread and the infinite mercy of God with the passage from Romans “the righteous shall live by faith.” That is, whether we fast or feast, peace with God not a quid pro quo–we see far too much of that kind of ‘relationship’ these days.

Instead, like “Ashes to Go,” God comes to us and makes peace with us as a free gift, holding open the door to be welcomed home. Agape meets people where they are, right on campus, out in public spaces, not only for their convenience but mainly because the vast majority of the over 105,000 people who study and/or work at SDSU or UCSD would only rarely or never go to a church building, and only ever for a reason that seems good to them. Often even those so inclined do not attend a congregation while their lives are centered on campus, but they can still find a “home away from home,” as they often describe us.

A bunch of students started with, “When I saw you here I remembered that I haven’t been to church since I was a kid at home, but I was thinking about getting back into it and spending more time with Jesus. Thanks for being out here!” That comment was repeated and a dozen quickly-deep conversations that wrapped with my invitation into community for their next steps. When they needed to run to class or lab or work, I gave them a coaster with our logo, inclusion flag, and QR code to connect with companions for the journey by faith–a gentle reminder that God is always ready to welcome us, no matter where we have been or where we are headed…maybe just a pause to breathe and awaken to God’s movement.

In one engaging conversation with a “new Christian” who shared a short story of radical conversion, then flipped over the coaster to see the inclusion flag with some shock. Without divulging their cause for shock, this is not an unusual reaction. Folks are very accustomed to seeing pride flags on campus, but one handed to them by a straight guy in a collar tends to stump them.

Why is it that people are still surprised to come across a corner of the church that is open and affirming? Maybe the most widely covered expressions that call themselves Christian match the algorithms driving clicks on loud, rude, fearful, even violent behavior, especially when it contrasts so starkly against what most people know about Jesus…that he was crucified by people who crave, comply, or cower before the power to criticize, condemn, exclude, punish, deport, or kill…precisely because he did the opposite!

When people meet an inclusive faith community, it matters that we can point just across the grass to the nearby The Center for Ethics and Spirituality for our Tuesday gatherings over lunch and conversation. Maybe a hundred interactions later (I wasn’t counting), I was glad that I spent a couple hours that way…it made me want to come back and do it again tomorrow and the next day…

Blessings as you make room for growth and new life

Pastor +Darin