Remember Who You Are, Dear Christian

J.J.

These words had to have stung in the ears of Adam and Eve:

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” – Genesis 3:19

Yes, the first man and woman were truly put into their place the day they chose to disobey God. The stark truth that they were no longer the Creator’s crowning achievement and prized possession, but rather a blunt reminder who and what they were in his sight had to have hurt.

Dear Christian, you and I, by our nature, are too “but dust.” And because of our inherent sinfulness, we, too, will “return to dust.”  These words will have been spoken over us all as our bodies are lowered into the ground:

“Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

Truthfully, there is nothing more sobering than a funeral. The corpse of that loved one–a body of dust–preaches the harshest message of the Law. That corpse, as do the ashes on Ash Wednesday, remind us all of our own mortality and our own need to repent and turn back to God.

The Cleansing Nature of Ashes

One wouldn’t think that ashes are something used for cleansing. If your congregation celebrates Ash Wednesday with the imposition of ashes, take a moment and ask your pastor how long it takes him to get the ash off his finger. (Answer: a while…) Yet, God is a God of paradoxes, and, as crazy as it sounds, he uses ashes to cleanse.

Throughout Scripture we see that ashes are a sign of spiritual cleansing, something that was necessary for believers, especially in the Old Testament. The prayers of his people on the pages of Scripture are numerous (for a few examples, see Joshua 7:6; 1 Samuel 4:12; 2 Samuel 1:2, 15:32; Job 2:12, 16:15; Psalm 19:12; 51:2,7; Isaiah 1:16; Jeremiah 25:34; Lamentations 2:10; Ezekiel 27:30; Jonah 3:6). This cleansing was necessary because in order to come into God’s presence and worship, one had to be clean. Numerous things made a person unclean, including a woman’s menstrual cycle, divorce, sickness or disease, and even coming into contact with a dead body.

Yet, regardless of what made a person unclean, God always provided a means of cleansing. In the case of the Israelite “funeral directors,” who were in constant contact with dead bodies, God provided the Rite of the Red Heifer (Numbers 19:17). In this rite the ashes of the calf of a red heifer, when mixed with water, had the ceremonial effect of purifying those who were in a constant state of uncleanliness. Through the sacrifice of an animal, and the application of the ash of that animal, God’s people were spiritually cleansed and able to worship God in freedom (Hebrews 9:13).

The Early Church and the Use of Ashes

Jesus, in denouncing their lack of repentance and belief, pointed to the outward signs of sackcloth and ashes as a means of showing penitence:

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“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” – Matthew 11:21

The Early Church, perhaps literally taking to heart these words, adopted the use of ashes as a symbol of sorrow and repentance over sin. Tertullian (c. 155 – c. 240 AD), in his De Poenitentia, wrote,

“[the penitent will] live without joy in the roughness of sackcloth and the squalor of ashes.”

At first, the use of ashes was only intended for outward, public penitence, used especially with adulterers, murderers, and others who had committed a public sin, fallen away from the church, and who desired reconciliation. This rite of reconciliation would take place a few but certain times of year. But by the tenth century, Lent had come to serve as the one time of year that reconciliation of public sinners with the church would take place. And as a result, by the twelfth century, ashes were associated with the beginning of the Lenten season. By the time of Luther and the Reformation, the Imposition of Ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross on Ash Wednesday was a regular component of Lenten piety and practice.

Lutherans and Ashes

During the time of the Reformation, Lutherans did not retain the practice of the Imposition of Ashes. Very little is known as to why this is the case since Luther and his colleagues wrote very little on this practice (and, in turn, the reason(s) it was not retained). One might assume that the ritualization and requirement of the Roman Church to do so at the beginning of every Lenten season was one such reason.

Despite sixteenth century Lutherans not retaining the practice, the Lutheran church of the twentieth century began to make use of it. Today, many Lutheran congregations make use of the Rite of the Imposition of Ashes on Ash Wednesday. The rite, understood correctly, can serve as a very pointed and vivid reminder of the preparatory nature of the season of Lent. When Christians understand the two aspects of the rite, much can be drawn from it. First, ashes are used, symbolizing the mortality and repentance of the sinner on whom they are placed. The sinner is reminded:

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

But, the mark is made in the sign of the cross, the symbol by which Christ redeemed us from sin. Thus, the ashen cross reminds us that we are by nature sinners, and that Christ has died for us sinners.

Whatever rite your congregation has decided to use today, understand the purpose of Ash Wednesday and the entire season of Lent. Prepare your hearts. Recognize your sin. Repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and grace. Humbly follow your Lord to the cross and to the tomb. Patiently wait once again for the “Alleluias!” to ring out and the joy to appear. For in the empty tomb, the threat of “dust you are and to dust you shall return” is gone. Remember who you are, dear Christian. You are not dead, but like Christ, you are alive. Ash Wednesday blessings to you.

S.D.G.