Ash Wednesday services are something that some churches will hold but others will not mark or celebrate this day at all. Some Christians find the day and the imposition of ashes as a helpful practice and tool to prepare their hearts for the celebration of Easter, while others believe that the day and practice reflects a distortion of the gospel message of salvation by faith and not by works or a man-made tradition. Therefore, there is often some confusion or questions when Faith Church announces that it will have an Ash Wednesday service.
The Bible does not command for us to gather on this particular day or to observe a season of preparation for Easter (called Lent). However, we should also remember that there is no command to hold Christmas worship services to celebrate Jesus’s birth or services on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, but we find gatherings on those days to be helpful days for us to ponder Christ’s work for us. There is no obligation to gather on this day, but there is nothing inherently wrong with extra gatherings for prayer and worship. We periodically host nights for prayer and worship, and this season of the year seems a good time for such a gathering. In addition, we prepare for Christmas each year in a season known as Advent, so it seems fitting to have a season of preparation for Easter as well, symbolic of Jesus’s time in the wilderness (Matthew 4) as well as Moses’s time on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:18).
This custom of the imposition of ashes differs from the sacraments of baptism and communion – those signs and seals were given to us by Jesus, actually commanded by Jesus to be done by his followers. He gives no such instruction about the imposition of ashes; it is a custom that developed in the church potentially in the sixth century but maybe even later, in the 10th or 11th century. While the custom of the imposition of ashes does not appear in the Bible, it draws from the symbolic significance of ashes found in the Bible. Ashes stand as a symbol in the Bible of repentance, as people like Job put on sackcloth and ashes as a symbol of their repentance and desire to turn from their sin to God. Thus, ashes are reminders of the reality of sin in our hearts and stand as an outward sign of our brokenness over sin and its effects on us.
Additionally, ashes are a reminder of our mortality, as Scripture tells us that we are of dust and to dust we shall return. This reminder of our mortality is not just a reminder that we will die but why this death happens – because sin entered into the world through Adam and Eve and as a result of this, God said they would die with those very words: “you are of dust and to dust you shall return.” It is not unprecedented to have traditions in our services that are not directly commanded but which we find as useful tools to remember key truths about Christ and his work; there is no command to have children waving palm branches on Palm Sunday or to light candles on Christmas Eve, but we typically do that as a tangible and visible picture of the events we remember that day.
Since the imposition of ashes is not a command of Jesus, it is not something that someone is obligated or required to do – but it is one that may be of benefit to us as it reminds us of our mortality due to sin and stands as a mark of our repentance and desire to turn from sin to God as we receive the sign of the cross with the ashes and hear the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe in the good news of the gospel.”
The Ash Wednesday service includes the option of receiving ashes for those who like it, but no one is expected or required to do so if it would make them feel uncomfortable, either physically or in one’s conscience due to any sort of connotations they may associate with it. In fact, if this practice causes you to become self-righteous or think you can (or need to) earn God’s approval, then you should avoid it, as it is not helping draw you closer to Christ.
While the day and service gets its name from that practice, the service itself is much more than that, featuring times of prayer and worship as we enter into this season in which we reflect in a special way upon Christ’s death and resurrection. This season can be a great time for renewal and self-examination, inviting us to draw closer to God. As we reflect, we may want to consider practices and patterns of life that might be hindering our walk with God as well as practices and patterns that might draw us closer. We may take a break from certain good things to draw nearer to God. This is why some people fast in this season. Similar to the imposition of ashes, there is nothing in the Bible that tells us that we should fast in preparation of Easter.
Above all, this day and service directs our minds to the reality of Jesus’s work for us and for us to follow him to the cross and the resurrection, knowing that we have been crucified with him and will be raised with Him.
