Realisation
Today is Ash Wednesday.
There are no instructions to observe Ash Wednesday in the New or Old Testament. It is a practice that is derived from Scriptural Truths, but which, if separated from those Scriptural Truths, can become an end in itself and become an empty tradition...
Genesis 3 helps us understand Ash Wednesday a bit better...
Adam and Eve were naked (unclothed) before they sinned and they were unashamed. Their sin was to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and, in the serpent's words, "to be like God". After they sinned, their souls were tainted by their rebellion and attempt to subvert God. This meant a new kind of nakedness - a nakedness that was shameful - they were covering their bodies in an attempt to hide their naked/broken souls.
This is what lies at the heart of Ash Wednesday: We are only too aware that we are broken. We sew all sorts of fig-leaves together: "I'm better than an axe-murderer...", "Everyone does it...", "I'm just so messed up by the past or "The Devil made me do it..." But the bottom line is that we know we are naked in our souls. We know that we are incomplete because our attempts to be our own god have failed.
Throughout Scripture, rites of contrition and repentance are recommended: Sackcloth, ashes, prayer, fasting, and gathering in repentant community to mention some. On Ash Wednesday we recognise our nakedness. We come forward to be anointed with oil and ash. Oil because God chooses us and ash because we are contrite and repentant. The symbol of the cross is made on our forehead symbolising that we are naked no more. We are clothed in Christ who died for us.
| When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis3:6-7) |
