Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. As a child, I don’t remember observing Ash Wednesday or even knowing what it was all about. In recent years, it has been observed more in many churches. It is not just a Catholic observance. Let me try to give a little history on this important day.

Ashes were used in the Bible to express grief and sorrow. In Job 42:3-6, it says, “You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ⁴ “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ ⁵ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. ⁶ Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”Job was expressing sorrow for sins and faults. Daniel turns to the Lord, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes (Daniel 9:3). In Hebrews 9:13 it mentions the Jews sprinkling ashes on those who are ceremonially unclean and asking the Lord to sanctify them so they are outwardly clean.

In the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica says that, after the Protestant Reformation, the ashes ceremony was not forbidden in the Church of England. It was even prescribed under King Henry VII in 1538 and under King Edward VI in 1550, but it fell completely out of use after 1600. Today you will notice the Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed Churches observing it religiously. That sounds funny to say religiously. There are many churches that actually practice this ritual while many people will not know it is Ash Wednesday until they see people with ashes on the foreheads of Roman Catholics.

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and the first day of Lent which occurs 46 days before Easter. If you take out the Sundays, then it will be 40 days. It reminds us of the 40 days of fasting Jesus was led in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil found in Matthew 4. Ironically, He was led by the Spirit of God. There’s a sermon in there somewhere…

The purpose is to grow in your relationship with God and spend the Lent season reflecting on the forgiveness of God. Now our church has not really gone all out on that day because we feel you need to live a repentive life every day. God wants to fill us with His Spirit and empower us to live for Him in holiness. Just like men and women should not wait for Valentine’s day to show their love to their spouse, we should not wait to repent and fast during these days leading up to Easter.

With all of that being said, it could be a rich time of practicing confession and renewal in the church. It represents a season of soul-searching and repentance. So I ask the question, “Why not use this season for reflection and taking stock in your spiritual life?” By observing the 40 days of Lent, we imitate Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for 40 days.

I want to encourage you to come to the church tonight between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m., and allow the Lord to speak to your heart. We may not put ashes on your forehead, but we will bathe you through the Word of God and worship the One and only. So consider this your invitation to come to the Sanctuary and be reminded of your dependence on Jesus, the giver of all things.

Joy in Jesus!

Pastor Mike

www.findlayfirstnaz.org