For a lot of people, February 14th can be the hardest day of the year. Although it is supposed to be a celebration of love, it can be challenging for more people than just those who are single. Valentine's Day has a tendency to "single-out" (excuse the pun) those who are not in a relationship, make those in a relationship question their worth based upon chocolates and roses, and can even be hard for those missing loved ones they used to share the holiday with. Nonetheless, Valentine's Day can be a day that people look forward to all year. Those in love get to shower each other with gifts and nice dinners, while contributing to over 163 million cards that Hallmark sells for the day.
Tomorrow, on Valentine's Day, I am wearing black.
Chances are, you will see a lot of people wearing black upon their foreheads this Valentine's Day. This year, the Christian tradition of celebrating Ash Wednesday falls on February 14th. It falls exactly 46 days before Easter and marks the first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday holds the purpose to prepare members of the Christian church to appreciate the death and resurrection of Jesus through self-examination, prayer, fasting, reflection, and repentance.
Although Ash Wednesday is not mentioned in the Bible, in Biblical times sprinkling oneself with ashes could be symbolized as a mark of sorrow for sin as seen in the books of Mordecai, Job, Daniel, and Jonah. Originally observed by the Roman Catholic church, many liturgical churches observe the traditional day for the same purpose.
Tomorrow, as the priest places ashes upon our forehead in the sign of a cross, he'll recite the scripture "Remember that thou art dust, and to dust shalt return". Ash Wednesday symbolizes our human mortality and humbles us to remember how needed the resurrection will be at the end of the Lenten season.
While many are celebrating with chocolate and champagne, remember the other celebration of this February 14th. Single, engaged, alone, married, in love.. no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter the value others place upon you.. We are all broken. We are all human. We all have sin. Let tomorrow be humbling, but also a reminder that the Lord finds you worthy of so much more than this world has to offer.
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