Ash Wednesday

There have been a few people who have asked why we are doing an Ash Wednesday service this year. That’s a fair question as many people aren’t familiar with the background and history of Ash Wednesday. I thought it would be beneficial to give some more information on this significant holy day.

Purpose

Ash Wednesday is the holy day that kicks off the Lenten season. Lent is the 46 days that lead up to Easter. The intention behind Lent is to create a journey that helps us more fully embrace the resurrection. Ash Wednesday is designed to help us remember and dwell on the reality that “from dust we were created and to dust we shall one day return.” (Genesis 3:19)

It may sound morbid, but Ash Wednesday is about staring death in the face and acknowledging that one day we will die. We look death in the face and remind ourselves that one day it will come for us. I am going to die. You are going to die. As followers of Jesus, we refuse to deny death. This affirmation runs counter to our culture where we’re mired in the denial of death. Think about it for a moment; we don’t like to think about death. We don’t even like to say the word. We use all sorts of euphemisms instead of saying someone died: “they passed on” or “they’re no longer with us.” However, in looking intently at death, we are freed to embrace the life that death invites us into.

On this holy day, we acknowledge our frailty and sinfulness. We freely confess our sin and imperfection and find freedom in laying our darkness at the feet of Light. Ash Wednesday is a time for introspection and self-awareness. We intentionally create space to remember that life is fragile and that we don’t have time to waste on nonsense. We might be convicted that our clicking and swiping isn’t worth our limited time and energy - empty distractions are to be rejected and abundance is to be embraced.

History

Ash Wednesday seems to have had its inception at the Council of Nicea in 325. However, in 601, Pope Gregory changed the dates of Lent and moved its beginning to align with Ash Wednesday. In the beginning, it was a time to wear penitential clothing and to do penance. For a number of years, the church took that penance very seriously and embraced the darkness within our humanity.

Many evangelical Christians ask if Ash Wednesday is in the Bible. No, Ash Wednesday is not explicitly in the Bible. However, the idea is alluded to - in the same way that Christmas and Easter are alluded to, but not commanded as a celebrations. The idea of ashes as a symbol repentance is prevalent throughout the Old Testament. In fact, several times the Bible mentions people repenting in dust and ashes; for example: Mordecai (Esther 4:1), Job (Job 42:6), the inhabitants of Nineveh (Jonah 3:5-6), and Daniel (Daniel 9:3-4). Repentance in dust and ashes was often accompanied with fasting during Biblical times.

Around the 10th century, believers started to display their need for repentance by imposing ashes on their foreheads in the sign of the cross. Why a cross? Because even on a day where we remember our mortality, followers of Jesus want to ground themselves in the truth that the cross buries our sin and offers us new life in Christ.

Experience

I grew up going to a Presbyterian Church that celebrated Ash Wednesday. Many people are under the false impression that Ash Wednesday is a Catholic Holiday. It’s not, there are many Protestant churches (Presbyterian, Anglican, Episcopalian, Methodist, etc.) that celebrate Ash Wednesday as a way to enter the Lenten season with intentionality.

A few years ago, South Fellowship hosted an Ash Wednesday service that I’ll never forget. I was leading the service and brought my oldest son with me. I was imposing ashes on people’s heads and out of the corner of my eye I saw Ethan walking down the aisle. As I placed ashes on his head and said, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” I was reminded that there will be a day when my precious son takes his last breath. I hope it’s 80+ years away but that day will eventually come. Mark Roberts captured my sentiments well when he wrote, “And so it is for Christians on Ash Wednesday. We can face death. We can admit our own mortality. We can talk openly about the limits of this life. Why? Because we know that through Christ we have entered into life eternal, the fullness of life that will not end when our bodies give out.”

The irony of Ash Wednesday is that it’s not gloomy or depressing. It actually gives us a new sense of energy for living. Our eyes are opened to the grace that envelops our everyday; often going unnoticed. As the Psalmist wrote, “teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” That’s what Ash Wednesday is all about.

Join us for our Ash Wednesday service on March 6, 2019 at 6:30pm.