A different kind of Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday was more than a little different this year.  We faced blizzard conditions, school was cancelled, and our normal patterns for life were disrupted.  We wanted last week to be different than what it was, but we were left in our homes to deal with our humanity.

What is the purpose of Ash Wednesday? What are we expecting from this season? What is the condition of our heart and what can we do about it?

Ash Wednesday is a tradition that began out of a preparation of the heart for Resurrection Sunday.  A season of forty days of preparation was set aside so that our hearts would be ready to celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  The first church council of Nicaea made the recommendation to set these days aside for the church to remember the salvific work of Christ.  Many new believers waited until resurrection Sunday to be baptized and spent this time to study the work of God in the world.

Many churches celebrate this time by gathering on Wednesday to set their hearts on the right path for these 40 days.  During the Ash Wednesday service we remember our sinful existence and need for a Savior, we confess our sin to God and one another, asking for forgiveness and being forgiven.  We end this evening service with the giving of ashes to one another.

Why ashes?  Honestly, they are dirty.  Ashes remind us of how dirty our sins are, they remind us of what our sin does to our lives and each other.  When the King of Nineveh heard Jonah’s message of their sinfulness and pending destruction he removed his robe, put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes to mark his and the people of Nineveh’s repentance (Jonah 3).  At times we will see others in scripture, Moses, Tamar, and Job for example, placing ashes on their heads so symbolize great distress or repentance from their sin.

The start of the Lenten season, as marked by Ash Wednesday, begins a season of repentance and focus on God’s work.  Many times we will choose to fast from luxury items during lent with the intention and purpose of drawing nearer to Christ.  In this way every time we miss or long for the things that we are fasting from we are to turn in prayer to God and remember Jesus’ sacrifice.

Throughout all of this we remember our humanity and need for a Savior.  The words spoken over us remind us of our humanity and the curse of our sin, death.  I personally prefer the words spoken in Mark 1:15, “Repent and Believe the Gospel.” The correct response when sin is pointed out is to repent and turn back to Jesus as Savior.

How is your heart? Are you turned and pointed to the Savior? Are you preparing to celebrate His resurrection?

No matter what your answers are, “Repent and Believe the Gospel.”