Ash Wednesday. The beginning of Lent. The start of the Easter season. The day where a large number of folks typically walk around with some type of smudge on their forehead. If you’re not prepared for it, those smudges can cause you a moment’s pause, and raise a concern, “Uh, ma’am, I’m sorry to bother you, but I think you missed with the mascara this morning. You have a little something right there.” Hopefully, this has not been your experience, but it is a possibility…especially if you grew up in a church tradition that did not focus on Ash Wednesday very much. For many, Ash Wednesday can catch us off guard. After all, we’re not really used to people walking around with the smudges. It just seems so abnormal, so odd.
And yet…
Ash Wednesday stands as a reminder of what is true, of who we are, of what we are.
Though we may not always walk around with ashes on our heads, Ash Wednesday serves as a marker, as a signpost, as a reminder of the truth that we share on this day.
From dust you’ve come. To dust you shall return.
Ashes to ashes.
Dust to dust.
We don’t often think about it. We don’t always like it, but Ash Wednesday stands as a reminder year after year that you, my friend, like me, are dust. Dirt. Plain, old, ordinary, common ash. Not only is that our origin, our start, but it is also our destiny, what will come. One day, our bodies, will return to the dirt, will return to the ashes, will return to the soil. It is part of who we are, and it is part of what we will be.
From dust you’ve come. To dust you shall return.
It’s pretty sobering when you think about it. Typically, this idea is not in the forefront of my mind. I usually have a higher regard for myself. I don’t often wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and think, “Hey there you big ol’ pile of dirt, you’re looking like you could use a little watering, some fertilizer, maybe a good plowing would take care of you.” No, this is not usually how I see myself in the mirror or how I view myself throughout the day. And yet, Ash Wednesday rolls around, and I’m reminded.
From dust I’ve come. To dust I shall return.
Ashes to ashes.
Dust to dust.
Ash Wednesday grounds me as it points me to our origin, to the beginning, it reminds me of the truth that is found in Genesis 2:7. “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground…”
Want to know what I am, where I come from? I am dirt. Ashes. Common. Ordinary. Nothing special. Dirt. Want to know where I’m headed (at least in terms of my physical body)? Same place. Back to the dirt. Back to the earth. I don’t know when that might take place, but it will happen for each of us (unless Jesus comes beforehand).
But that’s not all.
Ash Wednesday also reminds me of another characteristic of my nature, that I am fallen, that I have sinned, that I have come up short. Not only am I created out of the dust, but as dust, I have disobeyed my Creator. I have gone my own path. I have desired things that are contrary to God’s law, that fly in the face of God’s plan, that are against God’s love. Once again, Ash Wednesday stands as a marker, a signpost, a reminder of my nature.
In the Bible, ashes were used as a sign of repentance. When someone (or groups of people) were convicted of their sin and wanted to show that they have turned from sin to God, they would use ashes to indicate this change. For example, whenever Jonah preached the word of God to the Ninevites, they demonstrated their repentance by covering themselves in ashes (Jonah 3:5-7). They demonstrated their remorse, their sorrow, their guilt, and their repentance with this act of ashes.
For us, the symbol of the ashes is a reminder that we, too, are in need of repentance. We need to repent of the physical acts that we have done that are sinful. We need to repent of the thoughts that we have entertained and have adopted that are sinful. We also need to recognize and repent that we are sinful by nature, that it is part of our inheritance, that there is part of us that is broken and in need of healing, that we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The ashes of Ash Wednesday serve as a reminder not only that we are made from dirt and that we will return to dirt, but also that we are dirt in need of repentance.
If that weren’t enough, Ash Wednesday can give us even more. Not only did people in the Bible use ashes as a sign of repentance, but they were also used as a sign of grief, a sign of mourning. The ashes, that someone would place on their head, were an outward indication of an inward state. If you saw someone covered in ashes, you knew that they were mourning, that they were grieving, (or that they were repenting). You knew that there was something going on deep within their heart, and the ashes were a way to express that emotion, to share in that grief. This expression could take place individually, like when Tamar was mourning the way she had been horribly mistreated (2 Samuel 13:19), or when Job befell all of his misfortune and expressed that outwardly by covering himself in ashes (Job 16:15-17). It could also take place as a group, like when this depiction is given as a response to great tribulation and grief in Lamentations:
The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.
~ Lamentations 2:10
In these and other cases, the ashes applied to the outside of the body demonstrated what was going on inside the person’s heart and spirit. When others saw the ashes, they knew that something was going on, that there was a reason the person was expressing themselves in that manner. The ashes were an indication of grief, or suffering, or repentance.
Currently, when we see the ashes of Ash Wednesday (even if we don’t actually see any physical ashes on Ash Wednesday this year), we, too, can be reminded of the reality of grief and our need to express it. Life does not always work out perfectly. Things do not always go along as planned. Sometimes, we will each face and go through seasons that are incredibly difficult, disheartening, disappointing, sorrowful, painful, hurtful, etc., etc., etc. Ash Wednesday can remind us that it is OK for us to express those feelings. Not only is it OK, but it is also necessary. We need to address the brokenness that we face in this world, the sorrow that is a result, and we need to honestly deal with our grief, our pain, our suffering. Though we may not cover our heads with or sit in the ashes as people did during biblical times, Ash Wednesday reminds us that authentic expressions of grief and mourning are appropriate and good.
Let’s be honest. So far, this Ash Wednesday reflection has been kind of a downer. To summarize, I’ve reminded us that we are all made of dirt. Not only that, but I’ve reminded us that our physical bodies will return to the dirt. What else? Oh yeah. I’ve reminded us that we are sinful dirt in need of repenting. Plus, I’ve reminded us that life can be painful, that we will all grieve and mourn, and that we should find means to express that grief and mourning. This really hasn’t been a super peppy read to this point!
Fortunately, God does not leave us in any of these states.
Genesis 2:7 read, Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground…”. It continues, “and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…” Yes, we were made from dust, but not dust alone. God breathed into each of us. The very breath of life comes from God, the Creator, the Lord Almighty. We are not left as dust alone. Instead, we are given more, we are given life, the very breath of God.
The Ninevites? The ones who were facing destruction because of their wickedness? After their repentance, look at how God responds: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” (Jonah 3:10). The repentance brought about a change, a change in the Ninevites' attitudes, behaviors and feelings as well as a change in the plans of God. God had planned on consequences. God relented when the Ninevites' hearts were softened. Forgiveness came after repentance. Forgiveness is offered to us as well when we repent.
Job? A man who spent a good period of time in grief, in mourning, in ashes. Look at what Job 42:12 says: “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.” God did not keep him in mourning for the entirety of his life. Instead, he received an even larger blessing from the Lord.
Plus, there is this as a reminder for all those who may grieve:
“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
~ Psalm 30:5
Oh, and lest we forget, though we are perishing, though our bodies are going to return to dust, return to the dirt, return to the ashes (unless of course Jesus returns before that happens), that is not our final status. We’re not just destined to be a heap of nothingness. Instead, for those who have put their lives into the hands of Jesus, God promises the following:
“And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
~ Philippians 3:19-20
The final design for us? Mere ashes? Just dust? No! Out of the ashes the Lord Jesus Christ will transform us to be like him. Let me say that again. Out of the ashes the Lord Jesus Christ will transform us to be like him!!!
Or as Paul says,
“The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
~ 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
Yes, friend, Ash Wednesday is a welcome reminder of who we are, that we are dust, that we are fallen, that we grieve, and that we will one day return to the dust. But, it is even a better reminder of Whose we are, and that in Jesus we are given life, that we are forgiven, that our tears will be wiped away, and that we will live eternally with him.
~ Pastor Chris
