Reflection: Ash Wednesday 2026
By Rev. Dr. John F. Ross
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “The Gods we worship write their names on our faces; be sure of that. And a man will worship something … That which dominates will determine his life and character. Therefore it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming.”
Ash Wednesday is the day every year when God writes God’s name on our faces in ashes. A thumb…some dirt…a face…and some faith is all it takes. In ashes and dirt God writes his name.
I’ve heard a Pastor in the UK talk about “dirty theology”–God always using dirt to create, to heal, to change. Think about it: Creation; Manna; Manger; Saliva/mud on eyes; 38 years; washing feet; the blood, guts, and dirt of the cross. Eventually, a dirty, empty tomb. And today: Ash Wednesday.
LENT is that annual time to look in the mirror to see what kind of God is written on our face. A season to see if the dirty cross of this night sticks to our forehead or gets replaced or wiped off without any evidence left behind. A time to practice the faith we profess day by day, 46 times.
We need it, don’t you think?
Shane Claiborne, whom I consider to be a modern-day John the Baptist, writes an apology on behalf of all Christians:
“To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity. Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.”
The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.
A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved.
We have some work to do…together and individually.
Here’s a question for Lent: What if Jesus really meant what he said? Love our enemies… Pray for our persecutors… God makes the sun rise on the good and the evil… Don’t make a show of your religion… Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing… Seek first the Kingdom of God… Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and your neighbor as yourself.
What if Jesus really meant what he said?
How would it change our Church…our lives…our faith…our FACES? Would we still just give up chocolate? Or would we dare to give up our very lives? Thy kingdom come, thy will be done?
If you choose to receive the sign of the cross written on your face in ash and dirt, remember what Jesus said: Take up your cross and…what is next? Believe in Him? Pray with Him? Admire Him? Worship Him? Accept Him? No. “Take up your cross,” he said, “and follow me”
The Gods we worship write their names on our faces. You can be sure of that.
Rev. Dr. John F. Ross
Executive Director, The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program