This is an excerpt from an article from Doctor Richard Bucher about Ash Wednesday www.orlutheran.com/html/ash.htm
Ash Wednesday, originally called dies cinerum (day of ashes) is mentioned in the earliest copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary, and probably dates from at least the 8th Century. One of the earliest descriptions of Ash Wednesday is found in the writings of the Anglo-Saxon abbot Aelfric (955-1020). In his Lives of the Saints, he writes, “We read in the books both in the Old Law and in the New that the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast.” Aelfric then proceeds to tell the tale of a man who refused to go to church for the ashes and was accidentally killed several days later in a boar hunt! This quotation confirms what we know from other sources, that throughout the Middle Ages ashes were sprinkled on the head, rather than anointed on the forehead as in our day.
As Aelfric suggests, the pouring of ashes on one’s body (and dressing in sackcloth, a very rough material) as an outer manifestation of inner repentance or mourning is an ancient practice. It is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. What is probably the earliest occurrence is found at the very end of the book of Job. Job, having been rebuked by God, confesses, “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). Other examples are found in 2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1,3, Isaiah 61:3, Jeremiah 6:26, Ezekiel 27:30, and Daniel 9:3. In the New Testament, Jesus alludes to the practice in Matthew 11:21: “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
I appreciate the historical references but wonder if an “outer manifestation of innder repentance” is possible in a culture where sin is looked at as a “mistake” or a failing or worse yet like a computer problem – gigo.
My eleven year old granddaughter, Carissa, and I made a run to the General Dollar Store after Ash Wednesday services to get some items for the valentine bags we were making for the homeless women and teen girls in the Bismarck/Mandan area. As we were waiting our turn at the counter, the cashier asked us about the ash crosses on our foreheads. The gal in front of us did not have hers on any more but she and I were given the opportunity to speak about the importance of Ash Wednesday, leading up to what Easter is for us. I did not know the other lady, in her early 20’s. What a wonderful opportunity to share with the cashier and for the others in line after us. It was a good conversation piece for Carissa and I as I drove her home. A seed was planted and I will remember this cashier in my prayers. Thanks be to God.