Ash Wednesday is an important day for Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans, and Presbyterians. It marks the first day of Lent and is meant to mirror the 40 days that Jesus Christ fasted in the desert and endured temptation by Satan.
Pious participants of Lent mark the occasion by having the ashes of palm branches that were burnt in the previous year’s Palm Sunday drawn on their foreheads in the shape of a cross by a priest. While the ash cross is being drawn, the priest blesses the individual with the words, "Repent and believe in the Gospel" or "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
This sacred act is usually performed in a holy space, like a church. Yet, some people have been opting to experience this sacrament in the comfort of their cars by partaking in drive-up ashes.
In fact, in Columbus, OH, Rev. Aaron Layne placed ashes on his parishioners’ foreheads last Ash Wednesday while they still had their seat belts on.
“Honestly, I was on the fence about perhaps doing this,” Layne admitted. “Because we are a mainline Protestant denomination, so we like traditional things a lot of the time.”
Yet there is a method behind the madness. To find out, watch the video below.
What do you think? Do you agree with his argument, or do you feel otherwise? Let us know in the comments below.
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