I go through this every year. I’m walking around town or work and see someone with some dirt smudged on their forehead. Being a compulsive cleaner, my first instinct is to say something like, “You’ve got a little dirt on your forehead,” pull a bandana out of my pocket and move forward to wipe off the dirt. Luckily, this year I was unemployed and didn’t have any pressing reason to leave the house, so I avoided the possibility of this happening. So, I turned on the TV and wondered why all the guests on news shows had dirt smudges on their forehead. Was there a building collapse or some sort of natural disaster that I wasn’t aware of? They seemed too calm for that. I don’t know why it takes me so long to figure out that folks are just celebrating Ash Wednesday, but it does. And worst of all, it happens every year. I’m just scared that one year I won’t catch on quick enough and make a complete ass out of myself before realizing what’s going on. How bad would that be to wipe someone’s smudge off?
The fact that I’ve spent about thirty years of my life not having a clue that Ash Wednesday or little cross smudgies existed baffles me. During my formative years, I lived down the street from a Catholic Church. Geez! And to top it off, lots of denominations celebrate Ash Wednesday in this way. Maybe I’ve only lived in neighborhoods filled with “bad” Catholics. Or maybe its just me. I’ve never had any previous religious affiliation that actively promoted this ceremony, but Ash Wednesday’s on the liturgical calendar of at least some Gnostic denominations, such as the celebrations and holy days of the Ecclesia Gnostica. Since the gist of the remembrances associated with Ash Wednesday seems to be repentance, and I have a lot to repent for, I may give it a try. Or maybe not. I’ll start by reading Reverend Steven Marshall’s homily for Ash Wednesday and then maybe consider it for next year. And if I don’t decide that I’ll get much from Ash Wednesday, at least I’ll remember it and not be weirded out too much when Ash Wednesday comes around next year.
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