Ash Wednesday

When I met with the leadership team for ESUMC, I was told that the church had never offered weekday worship opportunities. I was coming the Sunday before the beginning of Lent and had thought that I would lead an Ash Wednesay service. Ash Wednesday is an important time of worship becuase it prepares our hearts, minds, and bodies for Easter. There was an instant longing in my heart to share Ash Wednesday with a congregation who has never experienced its beauty.

What is Ash Wednesday?

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and falls 46 days before Easter. The first day of Lent begins the following Sunday after Ash Wednesday. There are 40 days of Lent symbolizing the Isrealites 40 years in the desert and Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. We observe these 40 days during the 6 days of the week with 6 Sundays not included in the 40 days. Sundays are set aside as Sabbaths. Ash Wednesday is a way to prepare our hearts, minds, and body as we follow Jesus to the cross and gloriously to the resurrection. It's a time of reflection. Who is Jesus? Why did he come? Why did he have to die? Who am I? What are my sins? Do I truly believe in Jesus? Do I believe he has forgiven me? Am I willing to follow him all the way to the cross? All of these questions help us draw closer to Jesus as we seek after the answers that can only be found through prayer, reading and meditating on The Word, and in fellowship with other Christians.

On Ash Wednesday, the ashes are literally made from the left over palm branches used on Palm Sunday the previous year. These palms are burned and the ash is mixed with anointing oil, which is usually olive oil, Frankincense, and myrrh. "From dust you came and to dust you will return. Repent and believe!" These words are spoken as the ashes are placed in the shape of the cross on each person's forehead. The ashes are a symbol of our mortality caused by sin. But the shape of the cross reminds us that by the cross, we have been redeemed. We are forgiven. If we believe in the message of the cross and seek to follow the Way of the Cross, then although our bodies do die, our souls are given immortality. We do have eternal life.

Ash Wednesday at the ESUMC

Pastor Jana announced to the congregation the Sunday before Ash Wednesday that I was willing to have an Ash Wednesday service. Several expressed a desire to experience this act of worship. I was encouraged that some of the congregation would attend. And six people came! We sang, we read scripture, we prayed, and we worshiped. I could see the deep contemplation as each person received the ashes. There is such a bright light that burns within each person. These are men and women who are truly seeking after God. Even now as I see their faces, I see the joy that they felt to receive ashes in the shape of the cross. These ashes mark them as believers, followers of Christ. Ash Wednesday is both a horrific realization of death and a glorious reminder that through Christ Jesus we do have eternal life.

I'll never forget this Ash Wednesday. I'll never forget the sweetness on each face, as each person began to contemplate what Christ has done for him or her. I'll never forget the joy on each face at the end of the service, cross ashes adorned! I wonder how long they left them there before giving in to soap and water . . . but are they really ever truly washed away . . .