Luther was pushing back against certain beliefs, traditions, and rituals of the medieval Catholic Church that he believed were ridiculous, harmful, and distracted from the message of the Gospel. In other words, because Jesus didn’t say, “Put ashes on your foreheads on Ash Wednesday,” Martin Luther didn’t want to encourage people to do it. His reason? Because the practice isn’t found in the New Testament. In the sixteenth century AD, Martin Luther did away with the long-observed practice of imposing ashes. In fact, this aversion goes all the way back to the time of the Protestant Reformation. I embrace the traditional observance of Ash Wednesday but understand the aversion by some Protestants. There are probably a variety of other reasons, too, people don’t like to receive ashes and be reminded of mortality.
Others participate but add glitter to the ashes. Some would rather not participate in the imposition of ashes at all. Ash Wednesday makes some Protestants uncomfortable.
