4th March 2025
Shrove Tuesday is a day for being shriven but what does that word mean? The verb shrive comes from the Old English scrifan “assign, prescribe, ordain, decree; impose penance, hear confession; have regard for, care for,” (and curiously its original meaning was “to write” (strong, past tense scraf, past participle scrifen) – https://www.etymonline.com/word/shrove
As we approach Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent confessing our sins and being prescribed (possibly self-prescribed) an appropriate penance, is probably our best understanding of the word. Shrove Tuesday (or in this day and age, Ash Wednesday) is a good day to reflect how we can clean the slate, make a fresh start, and clear away away what stops us from loving God and loving our neighbour. In reality a process that could take all of Lent and probably a lifetime too – but Lent is a good place to start.
During Lent I plan to use the Counting on blog entries to ponder how we can rebuild those relationships through the Book of scripture and the Book of nature – God’s inspired word and God’s inspired activity.
The Green Tau 