Several years ago, I commuted to a job in the city.  Along with other commuters, I would stand at the station to await my train.  Finding a couple of friends, I would board the train and settle in for the hour-long commute.  One winter morning when I arrived, I noticed a rather out-of-place scene.  Near the station house was a small table set up with a few pieces of “holy” hardware on it. Behind it stood a priest accompanied by a couple of nuns.  Hanging on the front of the table was a sign that said, “Ashes To Go.”  In front of the table a few people stood waiting for the priest to administer a mark of ashes to their foreheads.  It was Ash Wednesday.

“So, this is what it’s come to,” I thought.  We’ve reduced a solemn sacred ceremony at a church, where we search our hearts, reflect, and repent, to a fast-food-drive-thru format, so we can remain in our hurried existence and still feel like we’ve fulfilled our duty to God.  Coming from my background, (Lutheran on my father’s side; Presbyterian on my mother’s side) it disturbed me. 

What does it mean?  What is Ash Wednesday?  Why do we observe it? Is it just a Catholic tradition or can Protestants observe it also? 

Ash Wednesday is a very important holy day on the church calendar as it marks the first day of Lent.  This year it will be observed on February 22.  The official name is Day of Ashes.  It is always 40 days before Easter (excluding Sundays), so there can never be an Ash Tuesday or Ash Thursday.  The Bible never mentions Ash Wednesday, or Lent either, for that matter. 

Ash Wednesday is meant to be a day of reflection, repentance and fasting.  Though the term is not mentioned in the Bible, there are numerous references in the Old Testament where people would sit in sackcloth and ashes as a sign of repentance.  (2 Sam. 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Job 42:6; Daniel 9:3) The modern-day practice is to have ashes rubbed on one’s forehead in the sign of the cross. This takes place during a service or mass, by the pastor or priest, who will recite from Genesis 3:19, “…From dust you came and to dust you will return.”

Other passages giving credence to the observance of Ash Wednesday based on our condition would be:

• Genesis 2:7 – Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.

• Genesis 3:19 – By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust and to dust you will return.

• Genesis 18:27 – …let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes.

• Job 10:9 – Remember that you made me from dust – will you turn me back to dust so soon?

• Job 42:6 – I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.

• Psalm 51:7- 10 – Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Give back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice.  Don’t keep looking at my sins.  Remove the stain of my guilt.  Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Ash Wednesday is observed by most Catholics and a few Protestant denominations.  The exact start of the tradition is lost in antiquity.  It is quite likely that it was practiced, in some form, back in apostolic times.  According to Britannica.com it was not established until the First Council of Nicaea in 325AD when a date for Easter was established.

Perhaps, you may be asking yourself why doesn’t your church/denomination observe Ash Wednesday?  By and large, Evangelicals, for much of their history, have moved away from these annual Church Year events, as they were not specified in the Holy Scriptures.  It may have started back in the time of the Reformers when State Churches were beginning to be established. For example, in Germany and Scandinavia, it was the Lutheran Church, in Great Britain, the Anglican Church and so on.  Not wanting to follow any state church, many Evangelicals decided to reject entirely the Church Year calendar along with the liturgy that went with those observances.  For years, I was a member of one of those denominations and I missed it. 

So, is it wrong to observe these days?  It is not wrong to observe them so long as it is done appropriately and for the right reason.  If it is done from a desire to be trendy or feel connected, in some way, to the church at large it is wise to refrain.  But, if on a personal level, there is genuine reflection, repentance, fasting and meditation on Christ and His sacrifice, it is not wrong.  Keep in mind Jesus’ teaching in Matthew’s gospel (6:5ff) where He says not to be obvious, as the hypocrites, when participating in these observances.  The Pharisees would pray publicly on street corners where everyone could see them.  When fasting, they would look miserable and disheveled so people would admire them for their fasting.  “Rather, when you pray, Jesus said, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Heavenly Father in private.  And, when you fast, clean up, fix your hair, so no one will know you are fasting.” While there is historical support, as a tradition of the church, there is no direct biblical support to observe these days.  For this reason, Evangelicals did not generally observe them as I mentioned.  But since we are all sinners in need of repentance, I encourage you to celebrate this day and come to the Saviour.

If you have had questions about Ash Wednesday and why it may, or may not, be observed, I trust this helps. 

A prayer for Ash Wednesday:  Dear Father, I ask you to search my heart this day. May your Holy Spirit convict me of those areas in my life where I have sinned and fallen short of your glory. I confess my sins to you. I am reminded that without your mercy and grace, I would be dust. I repent now and ask your forgiveness.  As with the Psalmist, I ask that You remove the stain of my guilt.  Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.  As I enter this Lenten season, may I draw near to You. Help me in my weakness and by your Spirit, give me strength to overcome the enemy.  Amen.

Bill Erickson