WHy Ash Wednesday?

From dust you come and to dust you shall return. 

At its most basic level, Ash Wednesday is meant to remind us of who and whose we are.  Genesis 2:7 says that “the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into the man the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” After the fall God said to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:19), “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Ash Wednesday aims to humble us and recognize our vulnerability—we are mere mortals! My mama used to say, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out.”  I like to think this is the Creator’s reminder to us on Ash Wednesday! We are a part of a story that began long before us, and it will end long after we are gone.  We are all humans.  No one is more or less than any other.  Furthermore, at our core, we are made of the same stuff, blood and bone, just like our neighbors next to us.  Brought to life by the same breath…and yes, despite our failings, loved into being by the same God, given grace through sacrifice of the same Christ. And to the same dust we shall one day return. 

Kathy Escobar writes, “Days like Ash Wednesday can help equalize and ground us in a deeper truth.”  In her book, Turning over Tables, Escobar highlights that our culture and religion often reinforce conflicting messages about people’s inherent value by what she calls, “deep grooves of racism, sexism, ageism, and ableism that are intertwined in culture and religion. The result is often division and dissonance not only in our personal experiences but also the systems we are a part of.”[1]

Hebrews 12:1 (The Living Bible Translation) reads: “Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up.”

I hope you will seriously consider the invitation to our community Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday evening at Mount Carmel.  This quiet, simple service that includes the imposition of ashes will begin at 7:00 PM.  Let us, together, begin the season of lent by literally becoming more grounded in who we are as children of God, siblings in Christ.

[1] Kathy Escobar, Turning Over Tables, (Louisville: WJK Press, 2025) p.15