What do I see when I look upon the ashes of this day?
I see a tangible reminder of the stain of my iniquity that I do not, on my own, have the wherewithal to cleanse. As. C.S. Lewis once suggested, the good news of Christianity will be unintelligible unless it is preceded by a recognition of the bad news of our sinfulness and the resultant alienation from God that sin always causes.
The ashes of this day speak an unsettling word to my heart about the “bad news” of my personal transgression. They are a besmirching of my visage that calls to mind the very real way in which sin has besmirched my soul. Every time I see the ashes (either on my forehead or the forehead of another), the flame of authentic repentance burns more intensely in my heart. The ashes help me to cling even more urgently and gratefully to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, who willingly receives into himself the stain of my sin, thereby making it possible for me to experience the salvation that only he can provide.
Beyond this, when I look upon the ashes, I am compelled to be cognizant of my own mortality and the dust to which I will one day return. I say that, not as an expression of morbidity, but as a realistic discernment of the fragility of the human journey and the urgency of living well.
During the day of atonement in the orthodox Jewish tradition, it is not uncommon for Jewish people to wear the garment in which they will one day be buried. For that faith community, this tangible act is an expression of humble awareness and not a sign of hopeless despair.
In a sense, the ashes of this day are the garment in which I will one day be buried. They are a garment of dust that inspires me to ponder at least two things: first, that my earthly body will one day be no more; and, second, that my eternal life in Christ has just begun.