WHY DO WE RECEIVE ASHES ON ASH WEDNESDAY?

Ash Wednesday probably has its origin in tattoos. From prehistoric times people wore permanent, deliberate scars on their bodies. At first these were simply trophies of hunts or battles, but eventually they became tribal marks to identify members of different families. Genesis 4:15 mentions that God put a tattoo on Cain. This probably referred to the Tav or X-mark worn by Kenites, a tribe of metal workers said to have descended from Cain.

Tattoos were also placed on the foreheads of prisoners, gladiators and slaves, thus becoming signs of shame. Because of this and the fact that tattoos were used for pagan rituals, the Bible condemns their use. "I forbid you to shave any part of your head or beard or to cut and tattoo yourself as a way of worshiping the dead." (Leviticus 18:28)

Temporary tattoos were still used. In Numbers 19:1-10 Moses describes the ritual of the Red Heifer. "The people of Israel must bring Moses a reddish-brown cow that has nothing wrong with it and that has never been used for plowing. Moses will give it to Eleazar the priest, then it will be led outside the camp and killed while Eleazar watches. He will dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times in the direction of the sacred tent. Then the whole cow, including its skin, meat, blood, and insides must be burned. A priest is to throw a stick of cedar wood, a hyssop branch, and a piece of red yarn into the fire."

"After the ceremony, the priest is to take a bath and wash his clothes. Only then can he go back into the camp, but he remains unclean and unfit for worship until evening. The man who burned the cow must also wash his clothes and take a bath, but he is also unclean until evening."

"A man who isn't unclean must collect the ashes of the burnt cow and store them outside the camp in a clean place. The people of Israel can mix these ashes with the water used in the ceremony to wash away sin. The man who collects the ashes must wash his clothes, but will remain unclean until evening. This law must always be obeyed by the people of Israel and the foreigners living among them." The ashes were probably worn as a sign of penance.

Christians were using blessed ashes in a similar ritual as early as the 5th century A.D. They saw it as a penitential act to remind themselves of their slavery to sin. This was a return to the notion of the X-mark branded on slaves and prisoners. The practice has been to burn the fronds from the previous Palm Sunday. It is a way of saying, "I welcomed Christ into my life in triumph, but during the past year I have betrayed him through sin."

One beautiful way of viewing the ceremony is to see the vertical part of the ash-cross as an "I" for self; and the horizontal portion as a cancellation of self. We must practice self-sacrifice to rid ourselves of sin for a pure relationship with God.