What is Ash Wednesday?

In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the first day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count). Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. During some Ash Wednesday services, the minister will lightly rub the sign of the cross with ashes onto the foreheads of worshipers.

Is Ash Wednesday in the Bible? I looked in the back, and I couldn't find it.

The Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or the custom of Lent, however, the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is found in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21.

Well, if it ain't in the Bible, then I ain't doin' it.

John, Peter, Paul, and the other writers of the NT lived in a religious culture that took the need for fasting, prayer, and repentance as a given. They were all Jews with a robust set of spiritual disciplines. Telling a first-century Jewish Christian to take time for prayer and repentance would be like telling a 21st cent. Christian how to crank a car. Both sets of people knew just how to get where they're goin'.

What's the point of not eating some things or not doing some things?

The point is to deny the self and focus on God. Jesus said that if we "want to become his followers we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him." Sometimes we have to say no to ourselves and the things that give us pleasure so that we can hear God calling us to the even deeper pleasure we have in Him. 

So what kind of things should I give up?

I usually think that its good to give up things that in themselves are good, but might be used in a way that distracts us from what is most important. For instance, I know one person who had a moment of clarity while paying $4.50 for an ice cream cone at Haagen Das at the mall. They said, "Ice cream is good, but is it that important?" They not only gave up ice cream for Lent, but calculated the money they would have spent and gave it to a missions organization helping those for whom $4.50 bought food to live on. 

It doesn't have to be food. Some folks realize that they use Facebook or Twitter as a constant distraction, so they give up social media sites or resolve to check email only once a day. A buddy of mine at Duke was in a whole class that did this and at the end of the experiment he said, "I discovered that  I wasn't quite as important as I thought I was. Nobody's life was ruined because I didn't respond to their Tweet in the first 12 seconds it was posted, and my social life got along just fine."

Now I'm starting to understand. I think I'll give up fried foods. Lord knows I could stand to lose a few. 

You could lose a few indeed, but now is not the time to serve yourself through the back door. Neither is now the time to give up smoking or something else that you needed to do anyway. While its true that what is good for you as a person is good for you as a child of God, the idea we're going for is to open our eyes to what God wants us to be. The focus is God, not our waistline.

O.k., o.k., I get it, keep it spiritual and serious. Do things that won't benefit me at all.

This is for your benefit, but for the benefit received from spiritual things rather than the gratifications of the flesh. During Lent, many Christians not only fast from certain things, but also hold fast to certain spiritual practices that are beneficial. So, one might fast from eating meat but hold fast to reading 3 Psalms a day, or giving extra money to help the poor, or having some time for reflection and confession every night before bed. A seminary friend once gave up cursing for Lent, and in addition, held fast to speaking words of encouragement at every opportunity.

Now that I'm starting to understand this, I want to show others how to do it.  I think I'll fast twice a week, join the choir, only wear drab colors, and always be first to praise the Lord during prayer time on Sunday morning. 

Jesus said "beware of practicing your piety in order to be seen by others." You can let people see you doing right, but don't do it in order to be seen. Live for the gaze of God, not the approval of people. Don't bite off more than you can chew in all this or try to be a spiritual hero. Start small, be faithful, and go easy on yourself. 

Paul once said (in effect) that "will worship is not the worship of God." We don't worship our ability to refrain and abstain, but we worship the Risen Lord who fasted and prayed while he was with us, and who calls to follow after him in all good things. 

Oh, and one more thing--Sundays don't count. Sunday is always a "little Easter." Whatever you give up for Lent, you get to have on Sunday, because that is our special day for anticipating the triumph of the coming Lord, it is the day when we lean into the New Creation and remember the delight and rest from our labors that God has promised those who love Him and are called according to his good purposes.

Reverend Joe Gunby is pastor of Bishop and High Shoals United Methodist Churches in Georgia.