Originally, ashes were reserved only for public penitents-i.e, murderers, adulterers and others who had fallen away from the church but desired reconciliation. Tertullian(ca.160-225) describes the use of sackcloth and ashes in the penance of an adulterer before his pastor.
This understanding carried over into the early and medieval church. In the New Testament, Jesus declares: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” Thus, in the Bible, ashes carry a two-fold meaning: as a sign of human mortality and as a sign of public repentance.
3:19) is echoed in the Imposition of Ashes formula. In fact, the Lord’s curse on Adam, “dust you are, and to dust you shall return”(Gen. The Bible contains a number of references to ashes and dust(Joshua 7:6 1 Samuel 1:2, 15:32 Job 2:12, 16:15 Jeremiah 25:34). And so, as our catechism is prone to ask: “What does this mean?” Where did this rite come from and how can it be used meaningfully in LCMS congregations today? During the last half of the 20th century, Lutherans have also begun to make use of this ancient rite, and indeed, it has been approved for use in the forthcoming Lutheran Service Book. Ash Wednesday will be a time to gather for worship to begin our inner, heart-rending work of returning to God in humility and trust in God’s mercy alone.For nearly a thousand years, these words have been spoken to young and old alike as the sign of the cross is traced on their foreheads with ashes – the Imposition of Ashes, as it has come to be known. We have much to face together when we look at ourselves in honest, humble assessment of the state of our lives and our world. This text reminds us that external rituals, such as rending or tearing your clothing as an expression of grief or repentance, point us to the inner spiritual work of repentance: rending, tearing our hearts in grief over the state of our self-constructed lives and our world of injustice. Slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning The spiritual power of Ash Wednesday is the inner work it calls us to through the external ritual.Ī reading for Ash Wednesday comes from Joel, part of which says: The meaning and importance of this day are not lessened by this, however. We gather for the traditional ritual that gives the day its name: imposing ashes on our foreheads as a sign of mortality and repentance. It begins a season of looking forward to God’s gracious renewal of our lives through the death and resurrection of Christ at Easter. It is a day of humbling ourselves before God as we confess our mortality and our repentance. Imposition of Ashes and Eucharist at 7:00 PMĪsh Wednesday is the traditional beginning of the season of Lent.
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