Mardi Gras is huge in Mobile, Alabama.  It’s big business and non-stop revelry as parades and balls capture the imagination of this city in January and February each year.  I know since I lived and served a congregation there from 1990 through 1998.

On Mardi Gras Day several parades in succession provided loads of fun and lots of laugh to the thousands who lined the downtown streets of this Gulf Coast city.  Schools were not in session and state and federal workers took off as well since no traffic was allowed in the heart of downtown Mobile.

Mardi Gras krewe members riding on decorated floats tossed their throws – moon pies, colorful beaded necklaces, and plastic cups - to the crowds some of whom have camped on the side of the street for several days just to get the right place to watch the parades.  My family always arrived on the scene in downtown Mobile in early morning under one of the large oak trees next to the old Episcopal church.

By day’s end all had eaten their fill of moon pies, cotton candy, pea nuts, shrimp, corn dogs and grilled meats.  And, of course, some had imbibed too much on the suds and were on their way to the Ash Wednesday hangover.

On the day following this entertainment and self-indulgence when moon pies were forgotten, beaded necklaces tossed into a drawer, and plastic cups washed and tucked into a cabinet, it was time for ashes, a sign of mortality and dependence upon God for life.  The Roman Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran communities in Mobile distributed ashes on the foreheads of worshippers in houses of worship to mark the beginning of Lent.

Gone were the parades, the throws from krewe members, decorated floats, dance bands from the ball rooms, and hundreds of thousands of people who lined the streets having the time of their life.

I often wondered how many of those folks who joined in the fun on Mardi Gras also joined in the procession to receive ashes on the forehead on Ash Wednesday.  Some did.  Other went back to their normal routines of life.  It is much easier to take a break to join in some good-natured celebration than to take a break to reflect upon repentance, works of love, and almsgiving – the discipline of Lent.

The journey through the season of Lent leads us to the cross of Jesus Christ where true life is found.  During my Mobile years, I wished and prayed that for many more people the moon pies of Tuesday led to the ashes on Wednesday and finally to the adoration of the cross on Good Friday.