The Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or the custom of
Lent.
Any. Time. Any. Place.
Before Jesus went out into the wilderness for "forty days and forty
nights" - the length of time of our 'modern' Lent - he didn't have John
smear ashes on his head. Indeed, he went there "immediately" after he
had been baptized.
In the Gospel chosen for the Day (Matthew 6:1-6,16-21),
Jesus is pretty clear about the whole business of fasting and ashes:
"And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward".
So, I did a bit of a word study/search for ashes in Scripture. I found a few
sources, like Job 2:8 "Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped
himself with it as he sat among the ashes".
And, Esther 4:1 "When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore
his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing
loudly and bitterly".
I also found it in Daniel 9:3 "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded
with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes".
I even found it in Matthew 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and
Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."
But it was the Rape of Princess Tamar, "the beautiful sister" of Absalom,
son of David, by Amnon, the son of David, that took my breath away (2
Samuel 13).
Tamar, the young royal princess, wears a distinctive robe, “a sign of favor and
special affection”. She lives in a world where her powerful father and brothers
hold sway over her, but have responsibility to protect her. Tamar has abundant
privilege, yet little power.
Tamar is obedient, trusting, and kind. When her father instructs her to help her ailing half-brother, Amnon, she goes and cooks for him. When Amnon bids her to bring food to his room, dutifully she goes, unaware that he has schemed and lied in order to get her alone, because he is obsessed with desire for her (2 Samuel 13:7-11).
When Amnon seizes and crudely propositions Tamar, she responds with an emphatic triple “No”:
No, my brother, do not force me;
for such a thing is not done in Israel;
do not do anything so vile! – 2 Samuel 13:11-12
She wisely anticipates the harm his crime would cause: “As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the scoundrels in Israel” (2 Samuel 13:13a).
But Amnon, the crown prince, ignores Tamar’s pleas and overpowers her, hurting and humiliating the one he was charged to protect. After raping Tamar, he called his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight and bolt the door after her.” So his servant put her out and bolted the door after her. She was wearing an ornate robe, for this was the kind of garment the virgin daughters of the king wore. Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornate robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went.
Beware the suspicious claim that Amnon loves Tamar (2 Samuel 13:1). His selfish and cruel behavior is the very antithesis of love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Violent abuse can never trace its origins to love. Instead, violence expresses lust for power and control — an unjustifiable desire to dominate another person made in the image of God
The story ends like this: "And Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman".
A desolate woman. Takes your breath away, right?
I also noted, in my word study, that Tamar is a female name
of Hebrew origin meaning "Date Palm" - the large branches of which
are used in Jerusalem (and in some church's here) during the Palm Sunday
re-enactment of Jesus' entry into the Holy City.
Interesting, that we "make" ashes - at least these days for
liturgical use - by burning last year's palms from the Sunday of Passion.
Mordecai was deeply grieving. Daniel and Job were truly repenting. Tamar,
however, was mortified, deeply ashamed about what had been done to her, as well
as grieving what had been stolen from her.
That's not what Jesus was talking about. Jesus said, "Beware of practicing
your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no
reward from your Father in heaven."
So, it's not about getting ashes just to get ashes and let everyone know that
you went to church. It's about an outward and visible sign of your inward and
spiritual grief, repentance and/or mortification or humiliation.
It's about intention. It's about sincerity. And, authenticity.
I want to use this time on the first day of the 40-day Season
of Lent to pray for the women in the world like Tamar. I want us to remember
and pray for young girls and women who have been sexually assaulted, especially
those our cultural system has failed to love and support and those to who our
legal system has denied an avenue of justice.
I want us to pray especially for all the women who were sexually assaulted by
their priests who were their trusted counselors and/or rectors or pastors, and
for all the desolate women whose wounds remain open and whose pain is
unbearable.
I want us also to pray for the perpetrators of sexual assault and rape and those men who are sexual predators, that they may repent of and confess their sins, seek guidance and counsel from a wise priest, make amends to those they have injured and throw themselves at the mercy of the courts so that justice may be done.
I have taken the biblical pericope for our Anglican beads from the lectionary lessons appointed for today, Ash Wednesday.
https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC/Lent/AshWed.html
The Collect: O God of mercy and justice, be with us this Ash Wednesday as we begin the Season of Lent by recalling the suffering and sacrifice of our sister Tamar. May her ashes of grief and sorrow be mingled with the ones we place on our foreheads, that we may remember the injustice done to her to all women and men who are sexually assaulted. May we not desecrate the gift of sexuality as a weapon to abuse power, but as an instrument to communicate the mystery of love. May your justice find its way into our culture and all who govern and uphold the law, for you are the God of justice and mercy, and in you we find the peace that passes all human understanding. Grant us these things, we pray, through Jesus Christ, our Sovereign Healer and lover of our souls. Amen.
Cross
Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Invitatory
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!
Cruciform
Bless the Lord, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
Weekly
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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