Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

February 14, 2018

I can't say I have particularly observed Ash Wednesday.  High church traditions observe Ash Wednesday and Lent.  This would include the Lutheran tradition.  I was baptized as an infant in the Lutheran tradition.  Of course, I can't remember the event.  As a matter of fact, I can't remember attending Lutheran services.  My father's mother was of the Lutheran tradition.  It would be my guess that the baptism was for my grandmother's benefit?  My father died acknowledging God, but questioning Jesus as Son of God.  My mother proudly claims to be a Southern Baptist.  I doubt she could say what makes a Southern Baptist different from most other evangelicals.  She hasn't been a regular churchgoer for decades.  For a short time in my youth, she attended a Southern Baptist congregation regularly.  I was baptized again at the age of twelve in a Southern Baptist church.  This time, it was by my prompting.  I went forward at the invitation one Sunday.  Later that month, I was baptized during the monthly baptism service with my mother and sister, Karen. Nearly ten years later we said goodbye to Karen at her funeral service.  She laid her head down for the last time in this life acknowledging both God and His Son.  I don't remember observing Ash Wednesday in the Southern Baptist church.

As a teenager, I joined a youth group my friends were active in.  The preacher was the youth leader, preacher, chief bottle washer, and tent-maker.  That's just a churchy way of saying that he was bi-vocational.  The congregation was small, maybe 20 adults in all, and could not support him full-time, so he supported his family by other means.  No, he was not literally a tent-maker.  When I met him he was working for my best friend's dad building swimming pools.  I worked for my best friend's dad too.  So, I liked this guy, he took me under his wing and I began attending an Advent Christian church.  I'm betting few of you have heard of the denomination.  Just don't get them confused with Seventh Day Adventist, it's not the same thing.  I don't remember observing Ash Wednesday with them, which is kind of interesting.  My first year of college was at one of their colleges.  I should remember whether they made a point of observing the Lenten calendar.  We didn't at my congregation, but not all of their congregations were alike.  Maybe it's age catching up with me, that was decades ago.

I came back from my first year of college, met a girl and asked her to marry me.  We celebrate our 39th anniversary in April.  After we married, changed jobs, moved and life caught up with building a family, we came across an Independent  Christian Church in Albany, Georgia.  I found my people, so to speak, and we have associated with those congregations since that time.  My!  I guess it has been some 35 years now.  I finally finished my education within their tradition.  I would say that you could be confident in not placing us in the high church tradition.  I'm trying to tell you that collectively, we do not observe Ash Wednesday.  Let me remind you of the first word in our title, "Independent." We are non-denominational, and therefore independent churches.  But, I should note that we can be a pretty independent bunch.  I'm trying to imply a weakness to orneriness and stubbornness. So, with us, be careful to make generalizations. We make enough of our own...about others.  To be brutally honest, we can make generalizations about others within our fellowship.  So, what's that to do with Ash Wednesday?  We don't.  I mean we don't observe Ash Wednesday, and if it were mentioned in many churches, some kindly saint would point out, "It's not in the Bible!"  Something like that happens a lot in our circles.  No, the practice is not recorded in the Bible, but the principle can surely be found there.  I've been thinking about this a bit today.

Ash Wednesday is not about getting ashes traced on one's forehead in the shape of a cross.  It happens, and I'm sure there are some folk who think the day is about.  Ashes are used on the forehead because the Bible records many accounts of people throwing ashes on their heads in an act of sorrow, mourning, and/or repentance.  This has everything to do with Ash Wednesday - the act symbolizing personal sorrow and mourning for sins against God.  It is an act of repentance.  For the saint in the back row, yes, repentance is in the Bible.  Did you hear what I just heard?  Another saint, again on the back row.  The other side of the room this time said "But there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  We don't have to do that!" Thank you kindly, brother, but just because we are free does not mean it is expedient to ignore that we are journeying on our way to perfection.  I think we are okay in doing a little reality check every so often to remind us that though we have put on Christ, we are not as perfect as Jesus.  Therefore, we should run toward perfection, laying aside the weight of every sin we can and make Jesus our focus, our inspiration, and guide.  He, after all, started all this and lived it perfectly before us.  By the way, He did not need to be baptized into repentance by John, but He did so because it was the right thing to do.

Now, I'm not likely to run out and get one of my high church preacher friends to trace an ashen cross on my forehead.  But that does not mean I cannot observe the intent of this day - to face my sins, to repent in sorrow for my crimes, and to surrender them at the foot of the cross.  Welcome to Ash Wednesday.  If you come by today, perhaps I can whip up some ashes for you and pray with you about what's on your heart.