Although an age-old religious custom, it seems that until recent years, the commemoration of Ash Wednesday has been a neglected experience in many denominations. I grew up in a Methodist Church where we celebrated the central seasons of the Christian calendar, but I have no recollection of an “Ash Wednesday” observance.
I do recall an embarrassing moment when I was in high school. A classmate boarded the school bus and I noticed his forehead looked dirty. Not knowing why, I politely said to him, “Tommy, you’ve got a smudge on your forehead.” He replied, “I know, I got it at church this morning. Today is Ash Wednesday.” Ashes on the forehead from going to church? What was that all about? I took my embarrassing moment and turned it into a learning opportunity. My friend told it me it was “something we Catholics do,” but gave no explanation of why. Perhaps he didn’t know why. It was not until I went to seminary that I learned a deeper appreciation for the holy season of Lent and what it can do for one’s soul.
In the Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. It offers us an invitation. Although an important time which includes six weeks of preparation for Easter, I suspect it is the least understood and least favorite of all the Christian seasons. In fact, a recently published book written by Pamela Hawkins addresses Lent and is titled The Awkward Season. Why the mixed feeling about this season? Maybe it’s because it’s a solemn season, and a time for internal reflection and self-examination which leads to repentance. During Lent, we are called to reflect on our failures and shortcomings that keeps is from being faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Lent is also the season when we must address the reality of our mortality. Most of the experiences of this season reflect topics we would rather avoid. Who among us really wants to be reminded of our mortality through scriptures that proclaim, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return”? We would rather observe the joyous seasons which lift our spirits, not those that have a tendency to pull us down. But, observing a holy Lent forces us to deal with the reality of our sin and our spiritual well-being. Lent when properly observed, prepares our spirits to truly celebrate the meaning and message of Easter.
Lent has a long history that takes us Christians back to our origins. As a forty-day time set aside to realize total dependency on God, Lent became the time when Christians were invited to join in the practices that gracefully lead to growth and renewal of faith. Traditionally it is also a time of self-denial and more intentionally practicing the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, reading and meditating on God’s word from scriptures. As a season of preparation for Easter, Lent can be called a spiritual journey toward a holy destination that leads us to claim the central promises of faith. It helps us affirm that this life is but a prelude to what God has in store for store for the faithful.
This season was observed primarily as a time of preparing new Christians to live out their faith and to grow in faithfulness. Lent addresses the reality of our imperfections and sin, and our need for God’s forgiveness and grace. Thus, unlike other seasons of the year when we celebrate God’s actions, Lent is the season that calls us to actions: repentance, reconciliation and restoration. Lent, on behalf of Christ, invited believers to turn from their sins and return to Christ and his community. So while this is an ancient tradition, it is relevant for every age for we are continually in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy.
Lent also may involve searching for answers to other questions: Why is there so much injustice in the world? Why do good people suffer? Where is the hope in times of despair? Where is God in times of tragedy? These are spiritual questions that we must address in our faith journey. And sometimes the journey may lead us “through the valley of the shadow of death.” But Lent gives us something to hold on to and reminds us that we do not journey alone. As we practice the faith discipline of repentance and seek reconciliation, our spirits are restored, our faith and hope are renewed, and we find peace.
The traditional invitation for Ash Wednesday expresses what Lent can do for us if we respond with open hearts: I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer. Amen. (fr. The Book of Common Prayer)
