I am always struck by this line from Jesus on Ash Wednesday, “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except for your Father who is hidden” (Matthew 6:17-18). Why would Jesus tell us to wash our face, and then the Church has a ritual on the exact same day where we smudge burnt residue on our foreheads? Doesn’t it seem contrary to what Jesus is saying? Are we not supposed to wear our ashes all day on Ash Wednesday? Isn’t that the point? It’s nice to get ashes to wear something externally that reminds us of who were are. It shows others who we are, which can have unintended consequences. For Jesus says before this, “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward” (Matthew 6:16). Are we being hypocritical if we wear our ashes out in public then? Is this what Jesus is telling us today? And if He is, then why is the Church putting this dust on our foreheads in the first place?
Perhaps the Church gives us these ashes as an opportunity to act on Jesus’s words, “wash your face.” It’s not every day that we enter into a fast and mark it by doing something external, like wearing ashes. So maybe, the Church gives us these ashes to observe our fasting but then invites us to wipe them away to keep our fasting secret. However, and I want to be clear here, not all who wear ashes in public are hypocrites, and not all who wipe off their ashes are righteous. Jesus instead invites us to analyze our intentions. He invites us to ask ourselves, “why am I getting ashes today?” Which reward do I seek? Is it from others or God?