Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is the 40 day season from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, modeled after the example of Jesus who withdrew for 40 days to the wilderness in prayer and fasting. Ash Wednesday service participants receive ashes in the shape of a cross on their forehead, given with the words from Genesis 3:19, “remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” This is a call to humbly embrace our brokenness and embark on a season of prayer and fasting. The Church has practiced Ash Wednesday for over 1,000 years, but for many of us this is a confusing practice at best, if not simply forgotten and over looked.

So, for those interested in the significance of this day, here are a few thoughts on Ash Wednesday:

One of the most important factors in the shaping of our character is our habits. The events that recur in our calendar are not just neutral ways to pass time. They shape our character in subtle and not so subtle ways. The calendar we keep shapes our financial goals, our feelings towards our country, our responsibilities towards family, our priorities, our values, and so much more. As you know, the calendar our culture keeps is a secular calendar. Its cultural events and federal holidays actively avoid affiliation with faith.

The Church has a different calendar. 

The Church calendar is shaped by the events of Scripture and the remembrance of Christian role models throughout history. The intention behind following the Church calendar is that we would be shaped more by the world of Scripture than by the world of 21st century America. 

For example, our culture offers us the soul-shaping juggernaut of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, a promise of joy from low priced doorbusters and one-time deals, an occasion to ADD material possessions to our life. Yet, in an age of unprecedented abundance, we have unprecedented anxiety, depression, and addiction. By contrast, the Church offers us the season of Lent, a call to fast, an occasion to SUBTRACT from our lives. This is a forgotten ancient wisdom. 

While our modern culture promises us purpose in material possessions, Jesus received His purpose during His 40 days of fasting in the desert.

Perhaps there is something to be gained by subtraction.