Ash Wednesday - Why and What?

I grew up with only a vague notion of Ash Wednesday. To me, it was some Catholic holy day that I, as a Protestant, didn't have to worry about, thanks be to God. In my view, all of “that religious stuff” detracted from what really mattered, which was having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In my early years as a Methodist it never dawned on me that some of “the religious stuff” might actually enrich my faith in Christ.

But then, in 2004, Ash Wednesday came to the forefront in American Protestant consciousness. Why? Because, on that day Mel Gibson released The Passion of the Christ. For the first time in history, the phrase "Ash Wednesday" was on the lips of millions of evangelical Christians, not just Catholics and other "high church" Protestants, as we anticipated the official release of The Passion of the Christ.

Ash Wednesday is a Christian holiday that has been honored by Christians for well over ten centuries at the beginning of Lent, a six-week season of preparation for Easter. Around 1000 AD, all believers began to signify their need for repentance by having ashes placed on their foreheads in the shape of a cross. Even this sign of sinfulness hinted at the good news yet to come through its shape as a Cross.

Today, celebrations of Ash Wednesday vary among churches that recognize this holiday. More and more Protestant churches hold some sort of Ash Wednesday services; where ashes are placed on our foreheads as a reminder of our mortality and sinfulness. The person who imposes the ashes quotes something like what God once said to Adam after he had sinned: You are dust, and to dust you shall return (Gen 3:19). This is the bad news of our sinfulness that prepares us to receive the good news of forgiveness in Christ.

Do we have some peculiar fascination with dying? I don’t think so. Rather, it allows us to stare death in the face is the assurance of real life, eternal life. When we know our lives are safe in the hands of God, and that this physical life is just the beginning of eternity, then we’re free to be honest about what lies ahead for us. We can face death without fear or pretending, because we know the One who defeated death. Thus Ash Wednesday’s vivid reminder of our mortality leads us, not to despair, but to hope. It points not to defeat, but to the coming victory of Easter. Make plans now to join us and your church family for an Ash Wednesday service on March 9th at 6:00pm. You do not have to have your forehead marked with ash, but you may choose to do so. Either way, join us as we begin the Lenten Journey towards the Cross.

Chris Blanchard