Another Good Question

Here's the other email conversation I've had, this time from Chantel. Like many of us, Lent was not an observed celebration in her upbringing, so she asks:

I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer for me on Lent. I work with someone, who is a devout Mormon. We are always talking about religion on the playground for some reason. Anyway, I was talking to her today about Lent and what it means to me as a Christian and specifically as a Presbyterian and I realized I don't understand Ash Wednesday and the meaning behind it. She couldn't explain the Mormon's point of view too well either so I told her to ask at her church and I would ask you. Since I started so late in life believing in Jesus and his word I feel very behind on a lot of things and feel like I have so much to learn and try to understand about the Bible and Christianity. I would appreciate any help you may have time to give to me! Thank you very much and have a beautiful day!

So I responded:

Lent is kind of an odd practice. It began as an observance in the Catholic Church, but many Protestant churches have brought it back in the hope of finding new meanings to old practices. Like Advent before Christmas, it is meant to be a season of preparation. It begins, of course, on Ash Wednesday and concludes on or the night before Easter. That period is considered "40 days," but if you are good at math you'll note that it's more than that; technically it's only 40 days if you take out the Sundays (I said it was an odd practice).

The "40" in the 40 days finds significance in several places in Scripture. For example:

• Number of days that Noah and his family endured the flood (see Genesis 7)
• Number of years the Israelites endured the wilderness (see Numbers 14:34-35)
• Number of days that Jesus endured temptation in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1-11)

When something happens in the Bible that involves the number 40, it seems that God is trying us somehow; the people of God endure something and are better for it in the end. So for 40 days before Easter, we seek a period of testing and growth. When Jesus did it, it involved a 40 day fast (not recommended) so many have traditionally included fasting as a Lenten practice. By the way, that's why we take out the Sundays: we've given ourselves a "day off" per week to enjoy whatever we've given up. I think that's kind of silly.

Of course we Protestants like to find new meanings so, rather than giving up a thing for Lent, some have taken on practices to enhance their Lenten journey. Things like service, study, worship, etc. (if you're interested in exploring various spiritual practices, I'd recommend "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster).

But to the heart of your question, Ash Wednesday: first, although I can't speak to the meaning a Mormon might find in it, I would assume that it's similar to what we might find. However, it is a deeply symbolic service and as such, the symbolism can mean a variety of things to a variety of people.

To do it properly, the ashes in Ash Wednesday come from the burnt palm leaves of the previous year's Palm Sunday. In other words, the palms that we waved to hail Jesus as our God-sent king, have become merely ashes. There is a cycle-of-life message that weighs heavy in this service. When the ashes are put on one's forehead, the pastor/priest quotes Genesis 3:19: "You are dust and to dust you will return." By the way, that's not a very nice thing to have to say to people you care about. But I think it's meant to draw us to consider throughout Lent, where we would be without Easter. We remember our sinful state and the death it brings so that we might appreciate all the more the abundant life we find on Easter morning. I have other thoughts on some less traditional Lenten ideas, but I'm putting them in my Quarterly article, so you can read it there.

I appreciate your questions and your journey and I too would love to sit down and chat with you more about these things. Don't worry so much about not understanding everything the Bible has to teach us; at its core, Christianity is simply about following Jesus. And following means simply being in relationship with him and letting that relationship transform you. And sharing it is simply introducing another to a friend.

If you have a similar thought-provoking question, I'd love to hear it. I will always ask before I post your question and I can always keep you anonymous if you'd prefer.