The cross traced in ashes isn’t a badge of honor or a mark of our works. It’s a reminder of Christ’s work.
Imagine this: it’s a rare dark and rainy day in Las Vegas, the kind of weather that casts mellow shadows in my classroom. My students, many of whom are new to the Bible and just learning what the Christian life looks like, sit looking up at me. In the dim light, I glance down at them and marvel at what I see in their eyes, reflections of a glowing cross etched in their eyes from the large illuminated cross on the wall behind me. This moment reminds me of the ultimate meaning behind the practices of Ash Wednesday.
I enjoy teaching my students about Lent and Ash Wednesday, practices that might seem strange or intimidating to newcomers. Some students know about the idea of “giving something up” for Lent. Many have never participated in a service where ashes are placed on their foreheads with the words from Genesis 3:19, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Understandably, they wonder what it all means and what’s expected of them.
I explain that biblically, ashes symbolize lament and repentance, a turning away from sin, and an acknowledgment of our mortality. In Job Chapter 2, we see Job lamenting all his losses as he sits in ashes. In Jonah Chapter 3, we see the people respond to a call for repentance with lament. The king of Ninevah himself heard this call for repentance and responded by sitting in ashes. In Matthew 11, Jesus connects repentance with ashes. All of these calls for repentance are a response to God’s law, recognizing that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. The law exposes our brokenness, but the beauty of Ash Wednesday is the gospel good news of the promise that Christ has conquered sin, death, and the devil for us.
But what do we see on Ash Wednesday? We aren’t to look at ourselves and wonder if we are sorry enough or if we are giving up enough. Instead, we look to the cross. The cross traced in ashes isn’t a badge of honor or a mark of our works. It’s a reminder of Christ’s work. Through baptism, we are united with him in his death and in his resurrection. There’s hope beyond the grave.
I often share with my students the lyrics from Kip Fox’s song “This Dust”
“Death is all around us. We are not afraid. Written is the story. Empty is the grave.”
These words capture the heart of Ash Wednesday. Yes, the ashes remind us of our death, but they also point us to the empty tomb of Jesus and the reality that we too will be raised from the dead.
I tell my students it’s okay if they feel hesitant about receiving the ashes. There’s no divine law mandating it. The practice is a visual, tangible reminder of a deeper truth, that we have a Savior who meets us in our dust, in our brokenness, and loves us there. A God who took on flesh, suffered, died, and rose again so that death would not be our end.
This season of Lent, as we journey toward Easter, is an invitation not to focus on our own efforts or sacrifices but on Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. It’s a time to lament our sins, yes, but also to rest in the assurance that we are forgiven and redeemed.
And so, whether you receive ashes this Ash Wednesday or not, take comfort in the promise they represent. In the darkest days, literal or spiritual, Christ’s light still shines. Just like the reflection of the glowing cross in my students’ eyes on that rainy day, his light pierces through our shadows, reminding us that even in death, there is life.
Ash Wednesday isn’t about fear or guilt. It’s about hope. Hope in a God who brings beauty from ashes, life from death, and light into every dark corner. We see the cross on the foreheads of God’s loved and forgiven people, and that includes you! You are loved and forgiven because we are under the mercy of the cross of Jesus.
