Today is Ash Wednesday. This is the day when Christians begin the season of LENT. Although Catholics are the Christians who are known for receiving ashes on their foreheads, several other liturgical denominations also receive them, including Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, and other Protestant denominations.
Putting ashes on a person’s forehead is found several times in the bible; along with wearing a sackcloth, as well as fasting. This was all done as a sign of their repentance. In many of the scripture passages, the description of people placing ashes on their heads or wearing sackcloths is followed by “they believed God.”
The book of Jonah contains one of the most known stories about people putting ashes on their heads. God sent Jonah to the Ninevites to preach to them. The message was to inform them that in 40 days their city would be overthrown. Once he heard the God’s message, the king of Nineveh “took off his royal robes, covered himself with a sackcloth, and sat down in the dust.” The king then ordered all people and animals to fast, wear sackcloths, and to “call urgently on God” (Jonah 3:1-10). There are many other people in the Bible who have donned sackcloths and/or ashes, and even fasted. Some of the books you may want to read include Job, Daniel, Isaiah, Joel, 2 Chronicles, Esther, and Jeremiah.
Around the 10th century, the practice of placing ashes on the forehead was tied to the season of Lent. The monk Aelfric wrote, “Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast” (Religion News). In the 16th century, Martin Luther removed the practice from his services because it was not based on the Bible. Christians who do not participate in receiving ashes will say that Lent is not found in the Bible. Catholics and many Protestants participate in the 40 days of Lent; which represents the 40 days in which Jesus was in the desert, fasting and fighting Satan.
As a Catholic, I do receive ashes on my forehead. Doing so reminds me that I am beginning a humbling journey called Lent. These ashes remind me that I am called by God to repent and turn from my sinful ways; just as He called the ninevites to do. It is an act of penance.
Whether or not you participate in Ash Wednesday, take time today to ponder the story of the ninevites (read Jonah 3). Consider who they were, what they did, the message given to them through Jonah, how a king humbled himself in obedience to God, and what the end result was of their obedience. Then, transition this story into your own life this Lent.
May you be richly blessed this Lent; and may God shine his light, love, mercy, and grace upon you always.
