I’ve wondered this for some time now. Many Christians (Catholics and Lutherans at least) attend Mass on Ash Wednesday and get a cross of ash on our foreheads. Generally you are expected to wear the ash on your forehead all day. The reason for the ashes is explained by Rev. Ken Collins:

So ashes became a sign of remorse, repentance, and mourning. Today someone might wear a black armband to signify that they are in mourning; back then people put ashes on their foreheads.

You can find biblical examples of this in 2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1-3, Job 42:6, and Jeremiah 6:26. During Lent, ancient Christians mourned their sins and repented of them, so it was appropriate for them to show their sincerity by having ashes on their foreheads. The custom has persisted in the church as secular society has changed around us.

It is most appropriate on Ash Wednesday, when we begin a period of sober reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection.

Which is nice and and make sense. However this tradition seems to be in direct conflict with the Gospel passage that is always read on Ash Wednesday.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18″

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

By wearing the ashes all day right on our foreheads for everyone to see, are we directly violating Jesus’ teaching that we not wear our faith on our sleeve for all to see? Ash Wednesday is also a day of fasting, and he specifically says “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting,” yet instead we smudge our foreheads with ash.

At first I would wear the ashes proudly, and want to go to church early in the day so I could show off my ashes all day. But they have this same Gospel reading every Ash Wednesday, so it has led me to want to go to the last Mass of the day (as I did tonight) so I’m not walking around with it all day like a hypocrite. The more I think about it though, I may just wash it off as soon as I get home in the future. This practice really isn’t sitting well with me.

Though I need to look into it more, and ask my priest or something. It isn’t like I’m the first to think of this, they read this same Gospel reading every year. The Church fathers definitely wanted to make a point by having this reading for Ash Wednesday. What are your thoughts?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 21st, 2007 at 9:51 pm and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.