Ash Wednesday & A Public Faith

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always enjoyed the public nature of Ash Wednesday. That is to say, what happens when we leave an Ash Wednesday service and there is the sign of the cross, for all who cross our paths to see. Recently I began to ask why is it that I have always liked this public semi-confession of faith. And I think the answer lies, at least in part, because of the posture in which we go in public with the sign of the cross.

The posture is, or at least it should be, one of humility. The sign of the cross is not etched in gold or silver. It’s not filled with ostentatious…