Year C Ash Wednesday

Feb 17

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.

"When you fast do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance,. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting." (6:16)


Ash Wednesday is not part of the traditions of The Salvation Army. While the day has significance in many churches and denominations it is not a day that stands tall in our collective history or our liturgical year. Ironically, in Australia at least, the pre-Easter period has been taken over by our missionary 'self-denial' appeal. Instead of a spiritual exercise the Lenten period has become an exercise in mission fund-raising, with appeals to self-sacrifice that require self-discipline. I have no argument with the self-denial appeal but would welcome a greater emphasis on Lent as a spiritual time of preparation.

My Google search of Ash Wednesday revealed a little of the origins of this day, but there were many references to the fires of Ash Wednesday 1983. In the minds of many it has become a marker of a state tragedy (47 deaths in Victoria, 28 in South Australia), not the commencement of a spiritual exercise.

Ash Wednesday and the period of Lent has no scriptural foundation that points to a command or demand for observance or recognition. It is another day and the commencement of another season in the church calendar that is planned to help us focus on Christ. The origins apparently (according to Wikipedia) go back to the placing of ashes on the forehead as a sign of repentance, and the timing is 40 days before Easter. Those 40 days do not include Sundays! Why? A good question - for which I have no answer!

Forty is a number of significance in the Bible. Going back to the time of Noah (it rained for forty days and nights) it has signified a sense of completeness - so the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights, and Jesus was tempted and fasted for forty days. Hence Lent is a period of forty days.

There is no requirement to observe Lent, which has been linked with self-denial in many traditions. In preparation for the great self-sacrifice the idea that we should "give up something" that will cost us in some way is a laudable one. It is also a worthy discipline as we follow the story of Jesus on the journey to the cross.

In this process it is notable that the texts for this day stand in opposition to the practice of placing ashed on the forehead and wearing them until they are worn off. The verses from Matthew remind us that Jesus told us to pray, to fast, and to give alms without drawing attention to ourselves. God will know what we have done.

In this day and age its OK for an individual, but for an organisation the relies on the public to support of programs of aid and transformation in the community it presents something of a challenge.

During this period we do well to engage in some form of prolonged self-discipline. We could give up something that costs us money, and direct those dollars to the poor. We could choose to eat less - miss a meal a day perhaps, or stop eating chocolate/sweets or drinking coffees. Or we could allocate some time each day to stop and pray for the needs of those around us, asking that God might touch our hearts and help us to see others as Jesus would.

However you choose to respond to Lent it is my prayer that you will understand better the mind and heart of the One who is the focus of this time.

Other readings for this day:

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 51:1-17; 2 Cor 5:20b-6:10

Readings for the 1st Sunday in Lent: Feb 21

Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Romans 10:8b-13; Luke 4:1-13.