Last updated on August 3, 2022
Today is Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent. The 2019 Book of Common Prayer from the ACNA provides a great description of this day and its importance:
Growing up, we never really celebrated this day. It was mostly just something the Catholics did. But in college, I attended an Ash Wednesday service and received the ashes on my forehead in the mark of a cross. I found this to be deeply meaningful and memorable. On the one hand, I was being reminded of my mortality and of those around me – a reality made especially stark this year. I was reminded of my sin and the need to repent and prepare myself for the Feast of Easter. Indeed, practicing lent liturgically has made the beauty and truth of Easter come alive more; not that the truth of Easter needs “help” for its power, but we need help understanding and experiencing it in its fullness. Lent reminds us of why and how the truth of Easter gives all of life meaning, purpose, and hope.
Unfortunately, I don’t live close to an Anglican Church to participate in the service, but I plan to attend a livestream here.
One thing I do want to say about the ashes, though, is that they can be interpreted and received wrong. Some see it as a kind of arrogant “virtue signaling,” following the Pharisees and saying “Look how pious I am!” If that is the individual’s own disposition, then the ashes are little more than dirt. But understood rightly, ashes in the shape of the cross remind us not only of our sin and mortality, but also of our hope and forgiveness! Indeed, the Ashes are not imposed as a cross for no reason. They represent, not simply an acknowledgment of one’s sin but we need not be bound and defined by that sin. Praise the Lord!
Here is the Collect for today from the ACNA, BCP
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