Like most Christian observances, Ash Wednesday has a long and cherished history. Giants of the faith, like Job, Daniel, and Jeremiah, used ashes and sackcloth to express mourning, humiliation, and repentance. Early Christians continued the practice even after the Gentile Church pulled away from its Jewish foundations.
Ash Wednesday, as we know it today, began in the 11th century, but it still carries its original meaning and purpose. Now, as then, it is the beginning of Lent, which is the 40 days of prayer, fasting, and reflection before Easter. Such traditions are good and proper. The symbolic ritual reminds us of real truth that must be remembered. After all, Jesus Himself instituted communion to remind us of His sacrifice for our sins.
Historically, the burned leaves of the previous year’s Palm Sunday provide the ashes for this year’s Ash Wednesday. As Man came from dust, to dust he will return. In the Law, the ashes of a burned heifer were used for purification from spiritual defilement. Consequently, the ashes symbolize mortality and sin. They remind us of our human frailty, both physically and spiritually.
The Ash Wednesday service has long included the practice of spreading ashes on the worshiper’s forehead in the shape of a cross. This illustrates the penitent’s identity
with Christ’s suffering and his faith in the salvation the Cross alone provides. Applying the ashes, the minister admonishes, “Remember that you are but dust and to dust
you shall return.”
This February 18th, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. We humble ourselves and put away those pleasures that take our attention away from Him. The ashes and the cross inspire us to solemnly and yet joyfully submit to Him and the glory of His resurrection. Ash Wednesday is the outward expression of our inward conviction that we are sinners saved by grace, through the power of the Cross.