Daniel and Job acted similarly in their own times. They repented in ashes and sackcloth (3:5). Take the case of the people of Nineveh who receive Jonah’s admonition and turned from their evil ways. This is the fate of all people, and the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday confronts us with this truth “head-on.” We, too, must die.īut ashes are not just a symbol of death and the curse. Without the breath of life, Adam must return to the dust. Disbelieving, Adam took the forbidden fruit and would now surely die. God formed Adam from the dust, breathed the breath of life into him, placed him in the garden, and set all of creation before him except for that forbidden tree. These words of God’s curse to Adam harken back to the very beginning. “You are dust, and to dust you shall return,” are often the first words those in attendance on Ash Wednesday hear as they walk into the nave and receive ashes on their forehead.

As the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday reminds us: you are going to die, so repent. Ash Wednesday is a day when we remember that, no matter what we have done to dishonor it, we are and continue to be bearers of God’s image.Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten journey, the church’s forty-day period of intense fasting and inner preparation that readies us to keep the feast of our Lord’s death and resurrection in sincerity and truth.

We were created from the dust of the earth, which is what we are and what we remain.

Even the words that accompany the imposition of ashes are reminders of our unshakeable relationship with God: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return”. On the other hand, it is a day when we remind ourselves that Christ died for us “while we were yet sinners” it is a day when we challenge ourselves to remember that despite our mortal nature, we have a future in God.

On one hand, it is the day on which we are searingly and brutally honest about the reality of the human condition: from our failure to honor the image of God in ourselves and others, to the fact that we and everyone we love will one day die. Ash Wednesday is actually one of the most hopeful days in the liturgical calendar. While the day that begins our Lenten observance includes a potent reminder of our mortal nature, that’s not where Ash Wednesday leaves it. At the same time, however, I suspect that we need Ash Wednesday this year more than ever.

Ash wednesday words of imposition