Dear Friends,
Our son takes some of his coworkers to an Ash Wednesday service each year. As they were preparing to leave for the service, one person asked, “What is the significance of Ash Wednesday?” While most Christians know that Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season, some of the deeper meaning of the day may be obscure, as was shown when another coworker started to talk about putting ashes on the forehead, giving up ice cream, and eating fish.
Our son interrupted and said, “Ash Wednesday is about a guy … a very special guy! Do you know who I’m talking about?” Blank stares! “It’s about Jesus,” he said. “Ash Wednesday, like Christmas, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter all point to Jesus.”
Why 40 days? In Matthew we read, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:1-3 (NIV)
When Jesus taught the disciples what we call the Lord’s Prayer, he included the phrase, “Lead us not into temptation.” Jesus knew temptation from the beginning of his ministry to his death on the cross. At any time he could have said, “Enough is enough,” and yielded to temptation, but he resisted temptation and became the perfect offering for our transgressions.
The Lenten season can be a period of meditation and reflection. It can be a time when we make decisions to resist the things that may tempt us. In this effort, we can look at how Jesus chose to resist the devil; he relied on prayer and he relied on the Word of God. “Jesus said to him, “Away from me Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (ibid Verse 10)
Why ashes? Ashes remind us of our mortality. “ Then Abraham said, “I am only dust and ashes. Yet I have been brave to speak to the Lord. Genesis 18:27 (ICB)
Ashes represent humility and repentance. “I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”” Job 42:6 (NLT)
Ashes represent mourning. “ Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son … “ Jeremiah 6:26 (NIV)
Traditionally the ashes used on Ash Wednesday are the burned palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. The burned palm branches remind us of Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem, followed on Good Friday by his death on the cross. We mourn in remembrance.
But our grief is turned to gladness as we reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 (NLT). We look forward to Easter and our celebration of the resurrection.
Verse for the week: John 11:25 (NIV) “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;’”
Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 