ASH WEDNESDAY 2014

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12  • Psalm 51:1-17  • 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10  • Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

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  Albrecht Durer The Penitent (1510)

  Ash Wednesday, which begins the season of Lent, is a very ancient observance. Originally Lent was a period of preparation for catechumens -- people who wished to become full members of the Christian church through the sacrament of Baptism. Baptism was a hugely significant spiritual step because it brought with it admission to the greatest sacrament of all – the Holy Eucharist. Those who had not been baptized were strictly limited in the ways that they could participate in the life of the Church, and could not receive communion. Since Baptism was regarded with such great solemnity, the six weeks of Lent were set aside for a rigorous program of study, prayer and fasting that would conclude with Baptism at the Great Vigil of Easter.

 The category of catechumens has long been abandoned. In most places infant baptism is the norm, and a more inclusive spirit has even led to ‘open’ communion, for which Baptism is no longer thought essential. Openness has much to commend it, but unhappily, since very little is now required of those who wish to attend church services, openness can foster casualness – a failure to receive the gifts of God in the right spirit. That is why it is worth focusing with greater concentration on the discipline of Lent.

The readings for Ash Wednesday are the same in all three years of the Lectionary’s cycle. Together they point us firmly to our deep need for God’s grace, while at the same time indicating the spiritual obstacles that lie in the way of our obtaining it. Through the prophet Joel, God pleads, "Return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning", adding immediately the warning that we should not confuse outward show with inward spirit --"rend your hearts and not your clothing". Isaiah issues the same warning even more firmly "Such fasting as you do today" he tells the Israelites, "will not make your voice heard on high". Why not?  Because it is self-serving and unaccompanied by the real repentance that reveals willingness to change the way they run their lives.

Emile Nolde Jesus and the Sinner (1926)

In the Gospel passage, Jesus expresses this same concern. He denounces the showy penitence of the righteous seeking to impress those who witness their zeal. In the light of this passage, which is always used on  Ash Wednesday, the ancient, and now very widespread practice of the Imposition of Ashes seems a little odd. Does it not conflict with Jesus' explicit  instruction to "wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others"? Imposition, though, is not meant as a sign of fasting. Rather, it is a tangible as well as visible acknowledgment of the truth that lies at the heart of all religion -- our mortality. "Remember, O Man, that thou art dust, and unto to dust thou shalt return" is the traditional version of the solemn sentence that is uttered as ashes are imposed in the shape of a cross.

  

We cannot put off dying, but we can put it out of mind. Yet it is a simple fact that there will come a day when we no longer exist. At that point, the story of our lives -- whether good, bad or trivial - is finalized forever. The trouble is that we do not know exactly when that day will be. This is why the readings for Ash Wednesday include the memorable urgency of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians "See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!" And so it is for us too. The sole hope of immortality is eternal life in God through Christ.