Ash Wednesday is two days away. Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday (also known as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. I have not participated in Mardi Gras festivities as splurging before Lent seems odd. I also didn’t grow up in Louisiana or Latin America where Mardi Gras festivities are prevalent.
I first discovered Ash Wednesday during my early school days when students would arrive at school with black marks on their foreheads. I inquired and learned that the black smudge was placed by priests or ministers during Ash Wednesday worship services. My Presbyterian Church did not have an Ash Wednesday service, so this tradition was new to me. It was during the last twenty years, as a Methodist, that I attended Ash Wednesday services and received the burnt palm leaves marking on my forehead.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the period on the Christian calendar that starts forty days before Easter, not counting the six Sundays. There are different ways of counting the forty days, depending on your denomination. The forty days are symbolic and align with other Biblical forty-day experiences, such as Moses (Exodus 34), Elijah (1 Kings 19), and Jesus (Matthew 4).
Scripture does not refer to Ash Wednesday or Lent. The etymology of lent comes from the Old English lengten (to lengthen [daylight]) that evolved into Middle English lente (spring). It occurs during the period when daylight lengthens as winter wanes. Early Christians started the tradition of fasting on Good Friday and Holy Saturday based on Matthew 9:15: “And Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (NRSV)
By the third century, the fast was extended to the six days after Palm Sunday. Only bread, water and salt were eaten during the first four days, and a complete fast was observed during the final two days. By the Council of Nicaea (325), some churches started the forty-day tradition. Historians speculated that Pope Gregory the Great (540–604) officially began the Lenten tradition, but its exact origin is not clearly known. What is known is that the observance of Ash Wednesday is more than a thousand years old and an important part of the Christian calendar.
The palm leaves represent the waving of palm branches by crowds as Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19). This triumphal event was quickly followed by his crucifixion. The palm leaves are burned to soot to represent death. Humans are all mortal, and it is customary to remind us of this fact: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) As the sign of the cross is smeared upon one’s forehead during the Ash Wednesday service, it is customary to reference Scripture by stating: “Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Why is this morbid topic introduced on the first day of Lent? It is during Lent that we follow Jesus to the cross before going to the empty tomb on Easter morning. In Mark’s Gospel, after John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus proclaimed: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:14) Ash Wednesday reminds Christians of their sinfulness and eventual death; do not delay in repenting and seeking God’s grace. Life is short. The ashes on your forehead are reminders of our fleeting earthly life.
Ash Wednesday sets the tone for Lent. It is a somber day of prayers, readings, and personal reflections. It ends with receiving ashes and exiting worship in silence. I leave the ash on my forehead until evening as a reminder of Jesus’ journey to the cross. I do not drink alcohol until after Easter morning worship. The Lenten journey is an emotional roller coaster that ends in joy after reaching the depth of sorrow. But the journey first begins with reflecting on the end, our impending death.
There is nothing in Scripture that commands Christians to make sacrifices during Lent. However, Lent is known as the season of sacrifice. I get asked: “What are you giving up for Lent?” This tradition may have been based on Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness. Mardi Gras developed as a day of revelry before the faithful had to make sacrifices, like fasting and abstinence. Going through a sacrificial period during Lent focuses the mind and body on the cross, the sacrifice that spared us from our sins.
If you have not attended an Ash Wednesday service, I recommend that you give it a try. If you are in a rush that day, then find a place where you can receive the ashes without attending worship. Our minister stands outside a nearby Starbucks on Ash Wednesday morning and administers the ashes. Buy your favorite drink, receive the ashes, and get your Lenten journey started by reflecting on the end. “Repent, and believe in the good news.”
