Lutheran Worship: History and Practice, a commentary on Lutheran Worship, says this about ashes on Ash Wednesday: “Other customs may be used, particularly the imposition of ashes on those who wish it. Throughout the Bible, ashes are associated with repentance (see Job 42:6 Jonah 3:5–6 Daniel 9:3 Matthew 11:21). Ash Wednesday receives its name from the medieval and Roman ceremony of blessing ashes made from palms given out on the preceding Palm Sunday and marking the foreheads of worshipers with these ashes as an expression of penitence 2. Since the Middle Ages, the Church has used ashes to mark the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, when we remember our mortality and mourn for our sins 1.
