To punish one’s self, through fasting or self-flagellation, was a way of identifying with Christ’s suffering. Throughout centuries, Lent was mandatory. Those who had fallen into what the early church considered serious sin-everything from committing adultery to serving in the military to performing magic and occult practices-after confessing that sin were enrolled in an “order of penitents” until they had made restitution. Sometime around the ninth or tenth century, this 40-day Lenten discipline merged with another service the church had developed several hundred years earlier to help sinners embody their repentance. You are not any more holy for participating in Ash Wednesday, but it is just another way to experience the presence of God in our lives in a symbolic way.īut, where did this act of worship and repentance on Ash Wednesday come from? Christianity Today provides some insight:

There is nothing magical about the ashes.

We are merely participating in the greater historical liturgical practices of Christians. Sure, Catholics do it, but that does not mean that we become Catholic if we receive ashes. Job was known for placing ashes upon his head to mourn the loss of his family.

In the Old Testament, ashes were a sign of penitence and mourning. These themes are symbolized by the imposition of ashes on the forehead, with the words, “You are dust and to dust you shall return…” during the worship service. The goal of Ash Wednesday is to reflect upon our humanness, our need for forgiveness, and our connection to Christ’s last days. I have always believed that Baptists must be led by scripture, reason, tradition, and experience ( the Wesleyan Quadrilateral) with scripture being the final authority.Īsh Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. This, of course, does not happen in a vacuum. Since we Baptists do not have a book of worship or order, like other denominations, Baptists are free to worship as they feel led. Each Baptist church has the freedom to worship however the church sees fit. Two of the classic Baptist distinctives is local autonomy and soul liberty. The two just don’t go together.ĭespite the misnomer, Baptists do celebrate Ash Wednesday and Lent, especially this Baptist. Huh? A Baptist who celebrates Ash Wednesday? That’s like an American celebrating Boxing Day.

What does imposition of ashes mean