Join us this coming Wednesday, February 17 at 7pm for Ash Wednesday Worship. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. Lent is a season of 40 days leading up to Easter. During this season God’s people reflect upon the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. It is a season which is characterized as “penitential.” In other words it is a season that is marked with confession and repentance of our sins.
The significance of ashes on Ash Wednesday goes back to the Old Testament. It was common that during a period of mourning, people in the Old Testament would put on “sack cloth and ashes.” These became a symbol of repentance and mourning for sins.
Ashes are dirty and dusty. They are messy and remind us how sin is messy. During the Ash Wednesday worship, the worshippers are invited forward for the imposition of Ashes. The pastor or elders will mark the sign of the cross on the worshipper’s forehead. The ashes used are taken from the palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday. The black mark upon the worshipper’s forehead reminds them that they need to be made clean of their sin.
So we enter the season of Lent in repentance and mourning. We are well aware we are “unrighteous” before a holy and righteous God. But as we progress through this holy season it is revealed to us how Jesus makes us clean and righteous before God. Not by anything we have done, but by his precious blood and innocent suffering and death.
