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Meaning Of Ash Wednesday And Why Anglicans Celebrate It
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Meaning Of Ash Wednesday And Why Anglicans Celebrate It
The aim of this article is to explain why the Anglican Church celebrate ash Wednesday. Most times,
Pentecostal churches tend to condemn and speak against almost every practice of the Orthodox Church.
But I hope this article will be meaningful and in turn convince as many as possible, but for the doubting Thomas’s, I do not know what else to do. I can only talk of Anglican because of my Anglican background, but I will not be able to talk much about Catholics and other orthodox churches. Although they all celebrate this event, yet I will not be able to place the exact reason why they do it.
Ash Wednesday is celebrated in the Anglican Church to mark the beginning of lent. Lent is a period of fasting and prayer which is observed by all Anglicans worldwide. It is celebrated once in a year and it
terminates with the celebration of Easter. The lenting
period for the Anglican Church lasts for a period of 40
days but ash Wednesday is celebrated 46 days to
Easter. The fasting lasts for 40 days because the
number 40 is a unique number. Jesus fasted for 40
days and 40 nights and Moses also fasted for 40 days
and 40 nights. Thus the Anglican Church fasts for 40
days. Many other churches fast for as long as they
can or as short as they can. For example, RCCG
fasted for 100 straight days in 2017 and 50 straight
days in 2018, yet in July, they will also embark on
another fasting for 30 days to complete 80 days
fasting. Some other churches fast for the first 7 days
of every year, some fast the last 7 days of every
year, yet others fix their fast within the year. Islam
fast 30 days to their sallah. Thus, the subject of
fasting is not a new thing; neither did it originate
from the Anglican Church. The lenting period occurs at
a calculated time. As earlier stated, ash Wednesday
occurs 46 days to Easter. The Anglican church do not
fast on Sundays and as such, this lenting period lasts
for 7 week (46 days) minus 6 Sundays in which no
fasting is done. It is expected that every Anglican join
in this yearly and spiritual exercise.
There are basically two major reasons why the
church still celebrates Ash Wednesday which I am
here to highlight.
The first reason why we still celebrate Ash
Wednesday is because it is a sign of genuine
repentance, sober reflection and sorrow. Dating back
to the Old Testament, we see that ash was used
severally on different occasions to mourn or bewail
issues like; pronounced judgement, sorrow of heart,
remorse and repentance. Perhaps, the following
scripture references would throw more light.
Job.42v6, Esther.4v1-3, 2Samuel.13v19,
Jeremiah.6v26.25v34, Daniel.9v3. Jonah.3v6,
Matthew.11v21, Luke.10v13. These few verses show us
that ashes are been used basically as a sign of
repentance and Jesus confirmed it validity as we see
in Matthew and Luke. For this reason, the lenting
period starts with the Ash Wednesday to show that
the season is a season of sober reflection. It is a
season of genuine repentance which ushers us to fast
and pray, calling on the Lord Most High with a pure
heart and a holy hand.
The second reason why Ash Wednesday is celebrated
in the Anglican Communion is to remind us who we
are. No matter the extent of our greatness and
achievement, it a sad news to know that we are just
ash and dust. This is why in a typical Anglican burial
scenario, you will see or hear the following lines,
“earth to earth, dust to dust, ash to ash”. With these
statements, the grave of the dead person is covered.
Therefore, we must constantly remind ourselves
whom we are and not go about thinking that we are
what we are not. With this in mind, it will help every
Christian worldwide to understand the more that we
are all ash and one day we will return back to ash
while the soul returns to God.
Do We Just Pick Up Ash From Anywhere
This is another important question that i will not fail
to answer. Do we pick up ash from anywhere, since
ash do not have its types? The answer is NO. We do
not just use any kind of ash for this celebration. We
get a palm frond, burn it and use that ash for the
celebration. Palm frond is selected because when
Jesus went triumphantly into Jerusalem, the people
got palm frond and st it om the ground for His ass to
walk on it. For this reason, the Anglican church use
the ash gotten from palm frond.
May God help us so that this celebration will not just
be to fulfill all righteousness. One of the major reason
why it seems as if Christianity is losing its value day
by day is because some of those things which were
instituted our Christian fathers are now been abused
and carried out just to fulfill all righteousness. So if
you are looking for the reason behind the ash
Wednesday, then I have done a little justice to it. If
you love this article and you believe its content, then
go ahead and share it to all and sundry.
SOURCE
Pentecostal churches tend to condemn and speak against almost every practice of the Orthodox Church.
But I hope this article will be meaningful and in turn convince as many as possible, but for the doubting Thomas’s, I do not know what else to do. I can only talk of Anglican because of my Anglican background, but I will not be able to talk much about Catholics and other orthodox churches. Although they all celebrate this event, yet I will not be able to place the exact reason why they do it.
Ash Wednesday is celebrated in the Anglican Church to mark the beginning of lent. Lent is a period of fasting and prayer which is observed by all Anglicans worldwide. It is celebrated once in a year and it
terminates with the celebration of Easter. The lenting
period for the Anglican Church lasts for a period of 40
days but ash Wednesday is celebrated 46 days to
Easter. The fasting lasts for 40 days because the
number 40 is a unique number. Jesus fasted for 40
days and 40 nights and Moses also fasted for 40 days
and 40 nights. Thus the Anglican Church fasts for 40
days. Many other churches fast for as long as they
can or as short as they can. For example, RCCG
fasted for 100 straight days in 2017 and 50 straight
days in 2018, yet in July, they will also embark on
another fasting for 30 days to complete 80 days
fasting. Some other churches fast for the first 7 days
of every year, some fast the last 7 days of every
year, yet others fix their fast within the year. Islam
fast 30 days to their sallah. Thus, the subject of
fasting is not a new thing; neither did it originate
from the Anglican Church. The lenting period occurs at
a calculated time. As earlier stated, ash Wednesday
occurs 46 days to Easter. The Anglican church do not
fast on Sundays and as such, this lenting period lasts
for 7 week (46 days) minus 6 Sundays in which no
fasting is done. It is expected that every Anglican join
in this yearly and spiritual exercise.
There are basically two major reasons why the
church still celebrates Ash Wednesday which I am
here to highlight.
The first reason why we still celebrate Ash
Wednesday is because it is a sign of genuine
repentance, sober reflection and sorrow. Dating back
to the Old Testament, we see that ash was used
severally on different occasions to mourn or bewail
issues like; pronounced judgement, sorrow of heart,
remorse and repentance. Perhaps, the following
scripture references would throw more light.
Job.42v6, Esther.4v1-3, 2Samuel.13v19,
Jeremiah.6v26.25v34, Daniel.9v3. Jonah.3v6,
Matthew.11v21, Luke.10v13. These few verses show us
that ashes are been used basically as a sign of
repentance and Jesus confirmed it validity as we see
in Matthew and Luke. For this reason, the lenting
period starts with the Ash Wednesday to show that
the season is a season of sober reflection. It is a
season of genuine repentance which ushers us to fast
and pray, calling on the Lord Most High with a pure
heart and a holy hand.
The second reason why Ash Wednesday is celebrated
in the Anglican Communion is to remind us who we
are. No matter the extent of our greatness and
achievement, it a sad news to know that we are just
ash and dust. This is why in a typical Anglican burial
scenario, you will see or hear the following lines,
“earth to earth, dust to dust, ash to ash”. With these
statements, the grave of the dead person is covered.
Therefore, we must constantly remind ourselves
whom we are and not go about thinking that we are
what we are not. With this in mind, it will help every
Christian worldwide to understand the more that we
are all ash and one day we will return back to ash
while the soul returns to God.
Do We Just Pick Up Ash From Anywhere
This is another important question that i will not fail
to answer. Do we pick up ash from anywhere, since
ash do not have its types? The answer is NO. We do
not just use any kind of ash for this celebration. We
get a palm frond, burn it and use that ash for the
celebration. Palm frond is selected because when
Jesus went triumphantly into Jerusalem, the people
got palm frond and st it om the ground for His ass to
walk on it. For this reason, the Anglican church use
the ash gotten from palm frond.
May God help us so that this celebration will not just
be to fulfill all righteousness. One of the major reason
why it seems as if Christianity is losing its value day
by day is because some of those things which were
instituted our Christian fathers are now been abused
and carried out just to fulfill all righteousness. So if
you are looking for the reason behind the ash
Wednesday, then I have done a little justice to it. If
you love this article and you believe its content, then
go ahead and share it to all and sundry.
SOURCE
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