what are lent and ash wednesday?
forty days in the wilderness
The church calendar revolves around two major holy days, each with whole seasons or cycles built around them. The first, which we have previously learned about, is Christmas. Leading up to Christmas is the season of Advent, which is not a time of celebration but of repentance and preparation.
The other major holy day of the church year is Easter, and it too has a season of preparation leading up to it, known as Lent.
what is lent?
The season of Lent seems to have developed around the third or fourth century as a time of preparation before the celebration of Easter. It’s possible that at first, this period was very short, only a few days, and it may have specifically been intended for new Christians who were preparing to be baptized on Easter. In the late first or early second century, the Didache advised that both the person being baptized and the baptizer should fast for a day or two beforehand.
Whether or not the practice was originally tied to baptism, the idea of fasting before Easter soon became a church-wide practice and it was extended to a length of forty days.
The focus of this period is prayer, repentance, fasting, and self-discipline. It is an opportunity to reflect on our life and our walk with God as we prepare for the greatest holy day of the year. What might be preventing us from being closer to God?
The principle behind this seems to mainly be to give up luxuries for a few weeks. What are those things that we can really live without, but we’re tempted to hold on to? That is why fasting whole meals is a little less common (though it certainly is done by some), and fasting certain foods is more common, such as sweets or meat.
Why meat? because until the modern age, meat was not a staple of every meal or even necessarily every day for most people. Meat was usually associated with feasting. That is why Roman Catholics usually fast meat on Fridays during Lent: it began as a prohibition on feasting rather than on meat itself.
Other things besides food, though, can also be given up for Lent. In the 21st century, giving up social media for Lent is a healthy practice. Though social media can be used in healthy ways, let’s face it: it changes the way we think and behave. Lent can give us an opportunity to push back against this change.
why forty days?
As we said, Lent may have started off as a shorter period of repentance and self-sacrifice before Easter, but it eventually extended to forty days, and this forty-day period was associated with Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness and his temptation, as he prepared for the beginning of his ministry.1
As Christians, we are all called to ministry of some sort. We are all called to serve God wherever we are. And so like our Lord, we need to prepare ourselves. Unlike our Lord, we also need to draw closer to God by questioning those things that may be distracting us. Lent is a great time for both.
But a question you may not have thought to ask is: which forty days? The forty days of Lent are actually counted two different ways, depending on who you ask. In both cases, it starts with Ash Wednesday. Usually in the West, every day from then until the day before Easter — except Sundays — is considered part of Lent, for a total of forty days. Why not Sundays? I’d like to spend a little more time considering that soon, but in the traditional Christian calendar, every Sunday is a feast day, no matter what.
The less common method of counting the forty days of Lent, at least in the Western world, is to count every day including Sundays, but end at Palm Sunday, a week before Easter. In that case, all of Holy Week would not be considered part of Lent, but instead would be its own thing, a final lead-up to Easter Sunday.
what is ash wednesday?
Whichever way you count the forty days of Lent, the first day is on a Wednesday, known as Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, the season begins with a church service centered around repentance, and even mourning. This is a part of the Christian life that we Evangelicals tend to push to the side or outright reject, because it makes us uncomfortable. But considering our sins, letting them make us uncomfortable, and genuinely repenting are all important parts of drawing closer to God.
In the Scriptures, one of the most common symbols for mourning and repentance is ash. In the book of Esther, when the Jews find out that the King had signed a degree to let them be killed, they mourned “in sackcloth and ashes.”2 Job, after being admonished by God says “I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”3 Even Jesus associates sackcloth and ashes with repentance.4
So a central part of the service that begins Lent is the imposition of ashes, when a cross of ashes is rubbed on the repentant person’s forehead:
Ashes are the result of burning. This burning in our lives is from our own sins and follies and the abuse of others, and ashes represent both. They remind us that we are living in this mortal world, this fallen world, and that we are made from dust, when all else is burned away. We are mortal and will return to our maker.5
The ashes remind us that this life is temporary, and that we are living for something greater.
Interestingly, the ashes used are traditionally made from the palm branches used the previous year on Palm Sunday. This not only ties the church years together, but reminds us that just as the worship Christ received on Palm Sunday turned to condemnation five days later, our worship can turn to ashes if we do not continually confront our sins and repent.
but I’ve seen lent and ash wednesday abused.
Like any tradition, these commemorations can be abused. Ever heard of Mardi Gras? This French term literally means Fat Tuesday, and it came about because Catholics who knew they would have to fast on Ash Wednesday and throughout the season of Lent started feasting each year on the Tuesday before the season began. The feast eventually turned into an anything-goes reverie. The mentality of some was “If we’re going to have to repent tomorrow, we might as well have something worth repenting of!”
This mentality is a symptom of a culture that is so tied up into Christianity that people who don’t really follow Christ are forced to participate in the practices of the church. Don’t get me wrong: I believe we must have a moral standard in our culture, but practices like Lent have to be built on a foundation of discipleship. They can’t be forced on those who don’t really believe.
Similarly, some have pointed out a problem with the imposition of ashes to mark the beginning of a period of fasting. Jesus taught on fasting:
And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.6
Our fasting shouldn’t be seen by others. Jesus even says we should “wash our face.” Walking around all day with soot on your forehead would seem to violate that command.
I agree that there is some danger here. If you were to receive the imposition of ashes and are tempted to wear it as a source of pride and spiritual superiority, my advice would be to wash the ashes off as soon as possible. For me personally, though, I’m more likely to feel uncomfortable wearing them all day, like people are looking at me weird. But perhaps someone will ask about it, giving me an opportunity to tell them about Jesus. (Something else that I should be more comfortable with!) So for me, wiping them off might not be the best idea.
The point, of course, is the heart. Are you doing this to be seen by men, or to honor God?
should everyone observe lent?
Lent and Ash Wednesday are not found in Scripture, though they have a lot of Scriptural ideas and elements in them. No one should be forced or feel pressured to participate, either in this season or in any practice of the church calendar. The point of these practices are to draw us closer to God, both through solemnity and, come Easter, through celebration.
Maybe you won’t go to a liturgical church and receive the imposition of ashes, but I would encourage you to find a way to participate in the season of Lent. Consider your sins, and take some time to focus on repentance. Choose some luxuries to give up, and spend more time in prayer and Scripture instead. If you want to draw closer to God, Lent is a great time to start.
“Ash Wednesday: A Rookie Anglican Guide,” Anglican Compass, March 5, 2014, https://anglicancompass.com/ash-wednesday/.