Ash Wednesday: “Remember, Man, That You Are Dust and To Dust You Shall Return”

Today is Ash Wednesday, the official first day of Lent. One of the Christian traditions on this day is to attend an Ash Wednesday service or mass where a minister draws an ash cross on your forehead while saying, “Remember man that you are dust, and to dust you shall return…”

Have you ever wondered the significance of the ashes?

In ancient times ash was a symbol of mourning; much like wearing black is today. If there was a death in the family, a person would put ashes on their head so that anyone who saw them would know they had suffered a loss.

So what are we mourning during Lent? While the death of Jesus might seem like the obvious answer, the truth is that we are mourning our own deaths. Because of sin, each of us will eventually die, but because of Christ we can have life and hope for a resurrection.

Lent is a time to focus on Christ and on His sacrifice for us (not to say we shouldn’t think of this all year!). The irony is that although Christ is our ultimate source of joy, when we focus on Him we’re also made fully aware of our own shortcomings, of our own inevitable death because of sin.

This is why we mourn. But it is not a mourning that brings despair, but rather a mourning that ought to be accompanied by repentance because we know that even in death we have hope in Christ if we submit to Him.

May you remember, honor, and trust in the God who sent His Son Jesus Christ to wipe away the ashes, to wipe away your sins, not just today, but every day.

-Steve

Fat Tuesday???

Today, many people in the church (and maybe more outside of it) celebrate Fat Tuesday (AKA: Paczki Day if you're Polish, or Pancake Day if you're Canadian): the day before Ash Wednesday, the last day before Lent begins, the final day of Mardi Gras, the last chance to party and load up on delicious junk food before we're supposed to start fasting and temporarily giving up some of our favorite treats!

But is this how we really ought to be looking at this day?

If you're celebrating Lent, then you might know that it is a 40 day season (excluding Sundays) leading up to Easter where Christians look forward to Christ's death, burial & resurrection, contemplate His suffering, and focus on personal reflection and repentance.

Typically at this time Christians will give up something, be it a favorite food or activity, and will spend various days fasting, in order to aid them in personal reflection. Since this time lasts about a month-and-a-half, I can see why people would want to get one last day of indulgence in first.

What's interesting, though, is that historically, this day was known as Shrove Tuesday, and instead of seeing it as a day of indulgence, it was seen as a day of preparation for Lent. Instead of eating pounds of pastries, people spent time in prayer and confession so their hearts would be ready to focus on Christ.

So how did the focus shift from prayer to partying? While I'm not totally sure, I don't think it's all that hard to imagine a reason. We're human. By nature we don't like to deprive ourselves of the things we want. I'm sure we can all think of times when we've over-indulged on something because we knew we wouldn't have it again for a while (I know I can).

Perhaps the question for us, then, is how should we respond? Can we turn "Fat Tuesday" back into "Shrove Tuesday?" What about the rest of the year? Are we capable of disciplining ourselves when we really want something that we know we ought to stay away from? Can we turn our focus from ourselves to God even when our cravings and desires are saying "no?"

Let's get the discussion going!

-Steve