Last year about this time I walked into my classroom at a local Christian University.  In the back row was one of my students, a young man about 20 years old, who had something very different about his appearance.  On his forehead was a pronounced black smudge that looked like someone had thrown a wet charcoal briquette at him and score a direct hit.   Jokingly I said, “Hey, Andrew, what’s the deal with the big black mark on your forehead.”  He looked up at me with quizzical look on his face, embarrassed for me – so it seemed – because I did not know what that mark was about.  “It’s Ash Wednesday,” he said.    Suddenly it dawned on me and I got a little red in the face and quickly moved on to another sublime topic, like what’s playing at the movie theater this weekend.

I bring up this encounter with Andrew because today, February 10, 2016 is Ash Wednesday in the Western Church calendar.   Ash Wednesday is the official first day of Lent, the traditional season of fasting, reflection, privation, and repentance that leads up to the joyful celebration of Easter (March 27).   We in the churches of Christ – with most Christians from a Protestant “free church” point of view – have not paid much attention to the Christian Calendar.   It is pretty simple: the Church calendar and all its holidays can’t be found in the New Testament but is based on traditions developed over the long, and sometimes sordid, history of Christianity.  Back to the Bible movements such as ours have always questioned the validity of the traditions of the liturgical calendar.  It is true that these days we, along with many other evangelical Christians, have started to embrace certain holidays like Christmas and Easter as having some spiritual value, but most of the Christian calendar remains foreign to us.   That certainly is the case with things like Ash Wednesday.  That’s why it could take a guy like me – a minister and avid student of Christian history – by surprise.  It’s just not on my spiritual radar.

So, why am I bringing this up then?  Am I advocating we start following the liturgical calendar and marking our foreheads with ash once per year?  Not really.   Instead, I thought that it might be a good occasion to simply mention a couple themes that are supposed to accompany Ash Wednesday and encourage you to reflect on them today.  First, the reason it is called Ash Wednesday is because ash and marking oneself with it has long been associated in the Bible with repentance and sorrow for sin (See Job 2:8; 42:6; Matt. 11:21).  If nothing else, Ash Wednesday might provide us an opportunity to reflect on our own sinfulness and examine our hearts and actions.  Repentance is always the proper position to take before God.

Second, Ash Wednesday serves as a visible reminder of our transience.  The black ash is a symbol of our own mortality, the sign of our limited time on this earth.  The old phrase, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” that is often spoken at funerals has a Biblical basis, for Abraham confessed this to the Lord as a sign of humility in the presence of the eternal one (Gen. 18:27).   Most people don’t want to think about death, even though it is the most obvious reality humans experience.  Christians, however, don’t have to shrink back from death, for we worship the One who has overcome it.  The mind shaped by the Biblical narrative can’t help but be moved to think about the resurrection of Christ when we are reminded of our own mortality.

Finally, the ash mark is supposed to remain on your forehead until it comes off naturally over a day or so. Evidently, this is supposed to be a sign that you are a Christian and have repented your sins, and this becomes a testimony and witness to everyone who sees you.     This one seems like a bit of a stretch and can certainly run the risk of being “showy”, but the concept has some Biblical merit.   As we have been discussing all year, we are to be Witnesses and to “let our light shine”.   But, as we go about witnessing to Christ and his work in our lives, we must always be mindful that we too are sinners who have been saved by the grace of God.  Triumphalism and arrogant witnessing will be counter-productive.   A humble witness – made with “gentleness and respect” (I Pet. 3:15) – founded on the conviction that we are sinners forgiven and made righteous by Christ alone is not only true, but effective.   May we have this kind of testimony.     So, if you see someone today with a black smudge on her forehead, you’ll know what’s going on.  You also may be prompted to reflect on your own need for repentance and your own need to be a witness to God’s gracious work in your life.  Blessings.  DTW