Ash Wednesday and Penitence
February 25, 2009 by Lillie
I grew up in a non-liturgical church, and I always wondered why Roman Catholics (the only liturgical church in my hometown) got ashes on their forehead on Ash Wednesday. Even after I joined a liturgical church, it took several years for me to really appreciate the Ash Wednesday observance. I wondered if it wasn’t contrary to Jesus’ instruction:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. … When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” ~ Matthew 5-6, 16-18, NIV
However, Jesus also said:
“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” ~ Luke 9:26 NIV
I’m not ashamed of Jesus and His words, and I don’t want him to be ashamed of me.
The Ash Wednesday observance has become important to me as an excellent way to begin a season of penitence in Lent. Certainly, we should be penitent at all times, but most of us benefit from a structured time of prayer, fasting, and penitence.
Jesus himself went into the desert and fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights. If He felt He needed that time with the Father, I certainly do. Father Chip Harper’s Ash Wednesday liturgy lesson and the description of Lent on the All Saints’ Web site explain it much better than I can.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~ Ash Wednesday Collect, 1928 Book of Common Prayer
a secular alternative to Lent: six weeks to do something that requires discipline. I’m using it to launch a ‘Write a crime novel in six weeks’ challenge. I grew up with the idea of giving something up for Lent. This seems a much more positive way to exercise your will power.
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gerrybeee,
Something requiring discipline is always a good thing to do.
As a Christian, though, it’s important to me to do something for my spiritual growth. The positive side of giving something up is that the idea of giving up something material is to concentrate on something spiritual. Use the money spent on whatever you give up to donate to a worthy cause, use the time spent on an activity given up for prayer and study, etc. So the giving up is actually an opportunity for something better.
I agree with lillie giving up is actually an opportunity for something better. and thanx for giving an idea for pray..
promdress (if you wrote YourName@Keyword, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
A reminder to pray is always a good thing. Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of life and fail to pray as often as we should.
Actually I saw Joe Biden today with ashes in a Cabinet Meeting.
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GregR,
I’m assuming you saw him on TV and no in person, right? I don’t think I have any Cabinet members commenting on my blog.
I grew up in a non-religious house hold but my child hood babysitter was very religious. So I had a really different mix experience at the babysitters versus at home. I think it really opened my eyes to two different worlds.
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you were not religious?
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Calvin,
I have listened to other views and examined my beliefs, but I can’t imagine living without a strong faith. I know I’m not strong enough or powerful enough to be in control myself; I need a guiding hand and a Comforting Spirit.
Some people may see that as a crutch, but from a practical point of view, it takes a lot more belief in the unproved and impossible than I have to imagine that the world came into existence by pure chance.
No one should believe just because someone else told them to. Each of us has to judge what is true by our own experience and intelligence.
As C.S. Lewis said, Jesus didn’t leave us an option. Either is the Lord of the Universe or He is the worst imposter known to mankind. Everything I’ve seen and my own instincts tell me He is Lord of all.
Hi Lillie,
I missed mass today, the first Ash Wednesday in a long time that I’ve missed… I prayed at home, but it still feels off, not having the mark on my forehead. But then, I don’t think God needed to see me in Church to know what I believe.
In grade school we were taught not to wipe it off (until washing up for bed, of course). It’s exactly as you explained, it’s not only a reminder of our own beliefs but a beacon to all we encounter. Not to show off, but not to be embarrassed over either.
Thanks for the mention on your blogging buddies list – I’m so touched that you remembered me, it’s been a while since I’ve stopped over. And what a great post I wandered back over for, too. I hope your Lenten Season is full of love and peace.
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Merry,
It’s good to hear from you. I subscribe to your blog and keep up with you.
You’re right that God looks at our hearts and not at externals, but symbols can mean a lot.
Lillie,
With regard to your concern about some aspects of Ash Wednesday observance procedures being contrary to scripture, I am certainly no expert with regard to scriptural matters, but from my reading of the bible, I would not think this would present a problem.
As a Christian myself, from my reading of the bible, the principle aspect of worship which is honorable to god is what is in your heart. The scripture seems to me to be fairly clear that god looks into our hearts whenever we come into any time of worship, and is somewhat less concerned about procedural aspects.
With respect to the passage you quoted, I think what Jesus was referring to by saying that our prayers should be private is the avoidance of the practice of prayer for show. If my recollection is correct, the stated reason as to why prayer should be private is primarily that private forms of worship are between us and god, and there is no aspect of show before others about them.
Because of this, I would not interpret the scripture as saying that public prayer or worship should be avoided, rather that the type of prayer which is more for show and less from the heart is what should be avoided.
Any form of worship, public or private, is alright according to my understanding provided it is approached out of genuine thankfulness to the lord.
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Andrew,
Thank you for expressing what I was trying to say far better than I did. And I’m supposed to be a writer.
When I was a child and young adult in a non-liturgical church, I didn’t understand Ash Wednesday and Lent. With my limited experience and knowldge of Scripture, I took one Scripture out of context.
Now I know two things:
1) God looks at our hearts, not externals.
2) Scripture has to interpret Scripture; we can’t take a verse or passage out of context and try to figure it out without considering everything else in the Bible.
This is a beautiful post, Lillie. Thank you.
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You’re welcome and thank you, Renae.
All the Jesus’s words are good and we should do whatever Jesus’s had told us, Lillie!
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All I can say to that, wilson, is AMEN!
I actually do go with lillie comments on giving up as round the corner is always possibility for change and positives! Thanks
Matt
Matt, you can write Matt@rhinoplastysurgery, and you will still get your keyword link but your real name will also show … which I prefer to rhinoplasty surgery.
Focusing on improving by giving something up can certainly lead to change.
Lillie, one of the unexpected blessings of blogging for me has been the friends I’ve made. Like you I saw blogging as a good thing to do for business and had written posts for clients and advised them on how to manage it, yet I was in for a wonderful surprise to find that it opened the door to wonderful new friendships. I am so glad that you started blogging and so thankful that we met. You are such a blessing Lillie and my life has been enriched by your friendship and kindness.
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Thank you, Karen. You are a constant inspiration to me.
Lillie, I grew up in a Baptist church and then began going to a non-denominational church as an adult. It was not until a few years ago that I too actually came to a deeper understanding of Ash Wednesday. Oddly enough it was the Jewish holidays that enlightened my understanding of this time of penitence and fasting. I, of course always believed in penitence, prayer and fasting throughout the year but came to understand a marked time for it leading up to the celebration of Easter. It is an excellent time of year for remembrance, cleansing and new beginnings.
Karen,
Much of our liturgy is rooted in the Jewish traditions. Even the priest’s vestments and altar vessels are very similar to those described in the Old Testament.
I have never been familiar with much of this stuff, but it is interesting to learn about. I myself am Jewish by heritage, but atheist by belief.
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Justin,
It is interesting to learn about others’ beliefs. I’d be interested in how you become an atheist. It would take a lot more faith than I could muster to believe that the world just happened on its own without any power creating it.
I’m happy that here in the Philippines, 90% of the people respect the Holy Days. Ash wednesday is absolutely one of them.
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Cesar,
That’s interesting about the Philippines. Unfortunately not many places are like that.
Nice article. I have been considering the 40 days of fasting. We recently did Daniel fast for 21 days at the beginning of this year. And it was great.
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Bible Study (if you write YourName@Keywords, I can address you as a real person and you still get the keyword link),
I was not familiar with the Daniel fast so I looked it up. It sounds intriguing.
I believe God looks at our hearts and at our actions. Fleur
Fleur,
You’re right, and fortunately for us, He judges us more by our hearts than by our actions. Too often our actions don’t completely match our hearts.
The Daniel fast is a good way to practice the discipline of fasting, which tends to get shunted aside. For me, I find it easier to read my bible, study it, attend small groups, church activities, but fasting remains the only spiritual discipline guaranteed to bring me closer to the Father’s heart. No other discipline places my heart and soul under such total submission to the Father.
Matt,
Thanks for the insight.
Lillie, I used to work for a major corporation whose owners were stupefied by the religious practices and customs of their devout employees–such as co-workers returning to the office with the marked foreheads. The bosses were behind the times in terms of diversity training and made some faux pas that today would land them in hot water with attorney general’s office. In medieval times of Western Europe, work and personal lives were regulated by church bells–calls to prayer. Eventually as clocks were invented, people no longer marched uniformly to the schedule set by the church and the dials navigating the dial set the pace for sleeping, for mealtimes, for prayer/church and work–even, God forbid, on the Sabbath.
Rick,
That’s interesting to hear how the company you worked for was so ignorant of its workers’ faith practices.
How times have changed. I remember when I was growing up, businesses were closed on Sundays. Now for many people, Sunday is just another day to work, shop, and do the things they do every other day.
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