Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Most years it seems like Ash Wednesday impatiently arrives too early - just after we get the baby Jesus born we start plotting his death. This year feels a little different. Since Christmas we’ve had New Years Day (good riddance 2020!); a failed palace coup; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; an inauguration; ordinations and installations; and a vaccine rollout starting to actually reach people. January was an eventful month. 

But, as predicted, Ash Wednesday is coming soon – February 17, in fact – and with it comes the season of Lent. We’ll have more to say about Lent in future Friday Messages, particularly how we are taking that journey alongside of our sister churches New Hope and Canvas this year. For today I want to focus on Ash Wednesday itself. First, with a little history and second with some very important information for you. 

Getting smudged with ashes seems like a very exotic, deeply religious, once-a-year kind of phenomenon, but it was not always so. In biblical times – as well as later church history – ashes were fairly common parts of every household. Cooking and heating were based on wood-burning and the deposition of ashes was typically some unfortunate child’s household chore. Sometimes the ashes would be scattered, but sometimes they were put to more practical use. (I can testify from a small, disastrous Ash Wednesday experience that mixing olive oil with ashes makes for some very effective, hard-to-remove stains.) During biblical times, one would put ashes on themselves as a sign of mourning or fasting and, in many cultures, ashes symbolized death, since many persons were cremated after dying. Somewhere along the line the church started the practice of taking the palm branches from Palm Sunday and burning them to be the ashes for the following Ash Wednesday. These days if you want that kind of authentic ashes, you have to go to a Catholic Liturgical Supplies store. 

My point is that while ashes seem to be an exotic, religious symbol today, they were initially a common part of everyday life. Ashes were so common that they were associated with dirt, the ground, the humus of creation, the “dust of the earth” in the phrase, “From dust you have come, to dust you will return.” 

This year, since we will not gather for Ash Wednesday worship and the imposition of ashes, we decided to use different common items as our symbols for the Lenten journey, namely dirt, seeds, and water. Along with New Hope and Canvas, we are going to produce an Ash Wednesday video that will lead you in interactive worship. 

Here’s what you want to have on hand by February 17 to actively engage in Ash Wednesday worship: 

A pot – Any size or quality, from a Dixie Cup to an ornate vase. We have some available at the church. 

Seeds – We will have Wheatgrass, Easter Egg Radish, and Mung seeds available at the church. Of course, you can use your own seed. We encourage you to choose something that will grow visibly during the Lenten season. 

Dirt – Any old dirt. We have some organic potting soil in quart-sized bags at the church. 

Water – in a pitcher, a jar, glass, cup, or watering can. We’ll let you get this yourself. 

If you have these items ready in a place where you can make a little mess, you will be ready to join us in worship on Ash Wednesday. And, as I said, we’ll have the supplies you need at the church on a table by the front doors of the sanctuary. You don’t need to make an appointment, just come and get ‘em!  

Mark of St. Mark