Ash Wednesday is on March 6th this year. But what is this day? It is a day when we come to get ashes imposed on our foreheads, and that seems to be important. But why? We have a hard time with the word sin, but that is the reason for the ashes. I would like to try to unpack this word, for of all the words that I know, this one has suffered the greatest abuse. As I understand the word, it has to do with the breaking of relationships, which is something that we all have done and will do. There are many reasons for this, including when we turn our backs on God. The breaking of that relationship is a sin, and we all manage to do that. We may break our relationship with God by breaking one of the laws that we learned, but we know that law has something to do with us and our behavior. That law has a personal dimension. It is our behavior that causes us to suffer alienation and pain. Ash Wednesday is the day that we openly admit the sin, the pain, and the suffering. We need to seek forgiveness, wear the ashes, and admit that we have made our confession.
