Restoring the option of the use of ashes, which are used in many circles (Protestant and Catholic), could be a way toward greater solidarity with our ecumenical partners on this day.Īnother is a different understanding, not of the teaching of Jesus (which is affirmed as much by those who use ashes as by those who do not!), but of the meaning and value of an embodied ritual of repentance on this day in the context of Christian worship that has continuity with our Christian and Jewish heritage. In addition to the exegetical reasons cited, there was in fact some measure of anti-Catholic sentiment in some Methodist ritual decisions to keep the Ash Wednesday service more as an occasion for admonitory preaching that participatory ritual action. With all of this Protestant and Wesleyan witness, why even let ashes be an option in our ritual? John Wesley himself, in the prayer book he sent over and that was adopted by Methodists, did not even include a season called Lent in his Calendar of Sundays and Holy Days, although he did retain the same readings for the Christian year as were used in the Church of England. Why then would it be consistent to disfigure one's face in public by using ashes on the first day of Lent? Instead, he says, look the best you can, so your fasting is not evident to others, but only to your Father in heaven.
In Matthew 6, Jesus clearly instructs his disciples not to fast like the hypocrites, those who publicly disfigure their faces and make a public display to show everyone else that they are fasting. One of the reasons a number of Protestants rejected this practice was that is seemed directly to conflict with the gospel lesson that had been assigned for this day for centuries. It makes sense to do this, given the name of the day and the service but the truth is many Protestant churches have held the service without the use of ashes.
More and more congregations are including "The Imposition of Ashes" in their worship on Ash Wednesday.
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