Sunday’s palms are Wednesday’s ashes
As another Lent begins
Thus we kneel before our Maker
In contrition for our sins
I’m not sure when I first focused on the idea that the ashes which are used on Ash Wednesday to mark Christians’ foreheads aren’t just any ashes, but rather are the results of burning the palm leaves that were waved triumphantly on Palm Sunday.
It was definitely long after the first time I ever sang the hymn “Sunday’s Palms Are Wednesday’s Ashes”. That hymn can be found in the middle of our hymnal, “The Faith We Sing”.
Its text was written in 1982 by the British-born educator and writer Rae E. (Phillips) Whitney (1927-). She wrote, “…alas, I have been unable to find out when and where the custom began, even though, during my research, I consulted two of the best liturgical scholars in the Episcopal Church. Does anyone know the answer?”
In his series of articles about the history of various hymns used in Methodist hymnals, Prof. C. Michael Hawn didn’t shed any light on the custom’s origins; but in any case, he wrote:
“Linking the green palms of Palm Sunday to the charred palms of Ash Wednesday highlights the irony of the coming Holy Week: the week begins with palms waved in celebration of the Messiah and concludes with the Messiah hanging on a cross.
“For those that observe this aspect of the Christian Year, the ongoing cyclic nature is pivotal to the experience. Ash Wednesday connects us to the Palm Sunday of the previous year and reminds us of the coming of the next Palm Sunday and the beginning of the next Holy Week. Ash Wednesday places us, the penitent worshipper on our knees, in the center of the drama on the journey to the cross.”
It is true that in this online format, first post of this year’s Lenten Devotions blog appears directly after the last post of last year’s Devotions. While it has been noted that in many instances, “coincidence takes planning,” it would undoubtedly be presumptuous of me to suppose that this juxtaposition is even remotely comparable to the symbolism of tonight’s ashes being last spring’s palms.
That said … in preparing for this year’s Lenten Devotions effort, I absolutely returned to previous years’ writings, both in the effort to inspire my own writing and in the effort to pull together a collection of writing “prompts” which might inspire others’ writing … even (or perhaps especially) those members and friends of our Sudbury UMC congregation who have written so prolifically for the Blog before.
Already this year’s writings have been arriving on my electronic doorstep. Without wishing to set up unattainable expectations, I am nonetheless willing to suggest that each morning during Lent (not including Sundays, since I have learned that this is theologically accurate — how ’bout that!) … you will be moved and inspired. Perhaps even to the point that you may wish to contribute some writing of your own.
Either way, I do hope that the writings that will follow throughout Lent will help you navigate this season of introspection, in preparation for the events of Holy Week and the celebration of Easter.
-Rob Hammerton
P.S. In preparing today’s piece of writing, I went to the “Book of Common Prayer”, hoping to find some Ash Wednesday liturgy that might shed some light on the charred-palms tradition. Except instead of the suggested pages 264-269, I mistakenly went to page 254, where I discovered the concept of “Ember Days”. My follow-up research about that term revealed that “ember days” have nothing to do with the burnt Palm Sunday palms except in an agrarian sort of way. But they are days of prayer and fasting. Hmmm. Again, sometimes “coincidence takes planning” — even if it’s not our (Earthly) planning effort…
Sudbury UMC Lenten Devotions 