Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the day many Christians mark as the first day of Lent. Lent is the time of reflection and penitence leading up to Easter Sunday. In churches all over the world ashes are dispensed and often communion is shared. The ashes are usually made by burning the palm fronds from last year’s Palm Sunday, and the clergy use them to make the sign of the cross on a person’s forehead. As we “impose” or “dispense” the ashes to each person, the reminds each Christian of Genesis 3:19: “For dust you are and to dust you shall return.”
Ash Wednesday is meant to remind us that our lives matter, that our lives are short and we are called by God to make a difference! In many cities and towns there is a party the night before Ash Wednesday. Maybe you have heard of Mardi Gras, or “Fat Tuesday,”? These parties are a secular observance that traces its roots to “Shrove Tuesday” in the church. This was the day when households prepared for the austerity of giving things up for Lent by emptying out their larder. (flour, sugar, etc) You may hear of pancake eating parties to celebrate “Shrove Tuesday”.
The season of Lent is the time period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. It is really longer than 40 days even though you often hear us refer to “the 40 days of Lent”. There are actually 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, but we just don’t count the Sundays as part of Lent.
To be clear, there is no mention of Ash Wednesday or Lent in the Bible. But there is a tradition of donning ashes as a sign of penitence that is older than Jesus. In the Old Testament (Job 42.6), Job repents “in dust and ashes,” and there are other associations of ashes and repentance in other books of the Bible. Both Ash Wednesday and Lent have developed and changed over the many generations of Christians who have gone before us as we all seek to root our lives in Grace through public worship and grow in faith through searching the scriptures, prayer and abstinence.
We look forward to the season before us as we begin together tomorrow at 7 am in the sanctuary. All are welcome.
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