DUST AND ASHES

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I've never paid much attention to Ash Wednesday and never observed it, as I felt it was not a Christian practice and had its origins in heathen culture. However, since I was asked by my church to participate in an Ash Wednesday ceremony this year, I thought maybe I should delve a little further into what Ash Wednesday was all about. I did, and I haven't changed my mind. I just cannot bring myself to participate in the custom.

First of all, Ash Wednesday is not in the Bible. It is of pagan origin and was first admitted into the Catholic church a few hundred years after the time of Christ.

Sprinkling oneself with ashes has always been a mark of sorrow even in Biblical times. It symbolizes deep grief and repentance before God. But those who observe Ash Wednesday add a second meaning to this observance: that of the need to prepare for a holy death. For the person marking the forehead of another with ashes quotes Genesis 3:19: "(D)ust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return." No where in Scripture are we commanded to follow such a procedure.

And how many people put their faith in this practice for forgiveness of sins instead of the shed blood of Christ? This is a man-made tradition. Read Matthew 15:7-9 and note how it speaks about those who make the commandments of men the same as doctrines of God.

Have you ever wondered why the forehead is chosen for ashes? Why not the right ankle, or the left knee? The only Biblical reference about men marking their foreheads (other than the Pharisaical tradition with phylacteries) concerns the mark of the Beast in Revelation. Hindu women often have a mark on their foreheads between their eyes, also made with ashes. As far as similarity goes, Ash Wednesday could very well have originated in Hinduism.

Many faithful adherents of Ash Wednesday fast, or at least abstain from meats on that day. This is in contadiction of Matthew 6:16-18 which tells us not to disfigure our faces when we fast. (Read it for yourself. It's too lengthy to include here. Also read I Timothy 4:1-3 which speaks of the practice of abstaining from certain foods as the doctrine of devils.)

Romans 12:1-2, as well as many other Scriptures, cautions us not to be conformed to this world.

Do I condemn you if you observe Ash Wednesday? No, I don't. Each person must decide for himself what he should do. I'm simply saying I do not wish to go around all day sporting ashes on my forehead. If I did, how could I snuggle my cat without getting him all dirty??? He wouldn't like that one bit!!!

More tomorrow!

Preacher's Kid

P.S. I wonder how many people display the ashes as a mark of sorrow? Could it be pride? And does this practice result in changed lives? As born-again Christians, shouldn't we be examining our lives on a daily basis? Just thinking out loud, as usual.