Like in medieval times when people wore sackcloth (burlap) to discomfort themselves in recognition of their sin, the ash mark given at Ash Wednesday services is a call to repentance and preparation in the season leading up to Easter, which will be on April 1 for Christians around the world.

The pastor says, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It focuses on the fact that life here on earth is not permanent. We must prepare for death. The ashes represent a deeper conversion to the Lord.

According to Wikipedia, Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. It occurs 46 days (40 fasting days, if the six Sundays, which are not days of fast, are excluded) before Easter and can fall as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

Ash Wednesday is observed by most Western Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics.

According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert, where he endured temptation by Satan.

Lent originated as a mirroring of this, fasting 40 days as preparation for Easter. Every Sunday was seen as a commemoration of the Sunday of Christ's resurrection.

That is why we worship on Sunday rather than Saturday which is in fact the Sabbath recognized by the Jewish and Seventh Day Adventist folks.

Accordingly, Christians fasted from Monday to Saturday (six days) for six weeks and from Wednesday to Saturday (four days) in the first week, thus making up the number of 40 days.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year's Palm Sunday, and placing them on the heads of participants.

Ashes were used in ancient times to express grief. When Tamar was raped by her half-brother, "she sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying" (2 Samuel 13:19).

The gesture was also used to express sorrow for sins and faults. In Job 42:3-6, Job says to God: I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6 therefore I despise myself, and repent[a] in dust and ashes.”

The prophet Jeremiah calls for repentance by saying: "O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, roll in the ashes" (Jer 6:26). The prophet Daniel recounted pleading to God: "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes" (Daniel 9:3).

Just prior to the New Testament period, the rebels fighting for Jewish independence, the Maccabees, prepared for battle using ashes: "That day they fasted and wore sackcloth; they sprinkled ashes on their heads and tore their clothes" (1 Maccabees 3:47).

Examples of the practice among Jews are found in several other books of the Bible, including Numbers 19:9, 19:17, Jonah 3:6, Book of Esther 4:1, and Hebrews 9:13. Jesus is quoted as speaking of the practice in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13: "If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago (sitting) in sackcloth and ashes."

So, this year at First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, we will follow a sermon series on “Living in Grace.” Let’s take a brief look at what is coming up over the next six weeks:

– Feb. 18: Living in grace through baptism. This sermon focuses on how we can live each day anew in our Baptism.

– Feb. 25: Living in grace by taking up your cross. Jesus instructs us that to be a follower, we must recognize that it won’t be easy and we each must bear our cross in life, no matter how difficult things get.

– March 4: Living in grace through a life in Christ. The two go hand in hand, grace and a life in Christ. All we have to do is accept the Lord in our hearts, minds, and souls and we will be filled with the grace of God through faith.

– March 11: Living in grace by faith. Our faith is given to us by God and through that faith we receive the gift of His Grace each and every day. And through our faith we spread the Gospel near and far to those who don’t know Jesus.

– March 18: Living in grace through obedience. Our path in life is not easy yet we must be obedient to the authority of Jesus. Jesus broke down the 10 Commandments into two – love the Lord and love your neighbor. As difficult as it may be, our task is to be totally responsive to His call for unconditional love.

– March 25: Living in grace by being humble. Palm Sunday and the very nature of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem was being humble at a time where He was in the presence of people that would scream crucify Him five days later.

– March 28: Maundy Thursday – living in grace through Holy Communion. The last supper and Jesus’ Words of comfort – this is my body given for you and this is my blood shed for you. And the command He gives us that night, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

– March 29: Living in grace through sacrifice – Jesus is crucified, and we will talk about what it means for each of us to sacrifice things that are secondary to our walk with Jesus. His sacrifice is a reminder to all people of the need to do the same for the sake of the kingdom.

– April 1: Easter Sunday – living in grace because the tomb is empty. A man has risen from the dead. Was He a ghost? Was He an image that popped into the heads of the women there that day … or was it real?

So, that’s what we will be doing this Lenten season. It all boils down to what Lent is all about. A focus on our sinful selves and what Jesus had to do to take away that sin. It is a time of reflection, a time to be humble, a time to focus on the Good News of a risen Lord. May it be so in Jesus’ holy name.

Chris DelCol is pastor of First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, Calif.