• Ideas
  • faith

The Problem With #AshTag on Ash Wednesday

3 minute read
Ideas

 

 

Let’s just go all the way this Ash Wednesday and stop imposing ashen crosses on foreheads all together.

Instead, let’s simply impose hashtags made of ash.

Because, if we are honest, that’s largely what this day has become about.

The #AshTag, not the ashes.

The virtual, not the real.

The immortal digital, not the mortal flesh.

Ash Wednesday is no longer about repentance and self-examination but about retweets and selfies.

Welcome to #Ashtag Wednesday. Last year, we saw the rise of Ash Wednesday as a trending social media event instead of a solemn service. Clergy mugged for cameras in sacristies with ash on their foreheads. Parishioners shared selfies with the world.

The whole world saw Christians standing on the virtual street corner praying and making their fasts public spectacles. We did the exact thing the Gospel for the day asked us not to.

It is a frustrating trend. A dear friend once said she loved Ash Wednesday because, unlike Easter or Christmas, it was the one day on the Christian calendar that couldn’t be commodified by popular culture.

But what is impossible for man is certainly possible with the church.

Get your #AshTag in church. Where will you get your #AshTag? Post your Ash Wednesday selfie and you might be one of 50 lucky people to win a book!

These are actual pitches this year — by religious organizations — for Ash Wednesday services.

These churches, leaders or organizations aren’t encouraging people to receive ashes as part of the liturgy, as a way to enter into Lent, or as a way to ponder our mortality or the sobering reminder that we are dust and will return to dust.

Rather, they are implicitly encouraging people to come to church in order to post of selfie. It fetishizes ashes. It centers the purpose of ashes in the public consumption of photos and social media rather than in reminding us of our mortality. The systemic push within the church for Ash Wedneday selfies is an exercise in whistling past graveyards. That’s the unfortunate context of the call to “get your #Ashtag.”

So, while I truly hope people don’t post their Ash Wednesday selfies this year, I really can’t blame them. This isn’t about the individuals posting selfies. It’s about the church itself, which is promoting it, driving it, and attempting to create cool trends rather than to call people into deeper meaning for the season of Lent.

In doing so, the Church is in danger of stripping its rituals of their solemnity and meaning for the fleeting, ephemeral popularity of a social media event.

Ash Wednesday is, if nothing else, a reminder of our mortality. How ironic that now there is a rush to immortalize our piety on this day through the eternal digital life where neither rust destroys nor moth consumes.

We store up these treasures on Twitter.

We have hollowed out the holy call for self-examination with narcissism.

We’ve exchanged the sacred for the selfie.

This article originally appeared on Patheos.

Read more from Patheos:

  • Why I Will Not #AshTag
  • Should You Wipe Your Forehead Before Going to Work on Ash Wednesday?
  • Will You Wear Your Faith at Work?
  • The Most Surprising Photos of Pope Francis

    Pope Francis
    The wind lifts Pope Francis' mantle as he delivers his speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on Sept. 26, 2015.Tony Gentile—AP
    Pope Francis US visit
    Pope Francis looks at the Statue of Liberty from the window of a helicopter on his way to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2015.L'Osservatore Romano/AP
    Pope Francis US Visit mannequin
    A Pope Francis mannequin rides around in a car in Times Square as New York City waits for the arrival of the Pope to the city, on Sept. 24, 2015.Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images
    Pope Francis US Visit
    Kaydn Dorsey, 4, and Lionel Perkins, 4, draw on a coloring sheet bearing the image of Pope Francis as they wait for him to arrive on a visit to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in Washington, on Sept. 24, 2015.David Goldman—Reuters
    Pope Francis US Visit nuns selfie
    Nuns with the Hospitaler Sisters of Mercy in Pleasantville, N.J., pose for a selfie with a cutout of Pope Francis, at the World Meeting of Families conference, in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 2015. Matt Rourke—AP
    Pope Francis Birthday
    Pope Francis blows out the candles of a birthday cake to celebrate his 78th birthday during a general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 17, 2014. Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images
    Francis
    Paying the bill at Rome's Domus Internationalis Paulus VI hotel, where Pope Francis stayed as a cardinal before entering the conclave and being elected pope.Osservatore Romano/AP
    Vatican Benedict
    Welcoming Pope emeritus Benedict XVI as he returns to the Vatican from the pontifical summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.Osservatore Romano/AP
    POPE: EASTER HOLY MASS
    Holding a disabled child after celebrating Easter Mass.Alessandro di Meo—ANSA/Zuma Press
    BRASIL-POPE-FRANCIS-MASK
    Pope Francis masks in a factory in Brazil, where the Pontiff took his first overseas trip. Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty Images
    Italy - Religion - Pope Francis leads Worldwide Eucharistic Adoration
    Leading the Worldwide Eucharistic adoration at the Vatican.Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis
    Vatican Pope
    A gust of wind blows the pope's mantle. Alessandra Tarantino—AP
    Pope Francis attends the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome at the Vatican
    Attending the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters
    Pope Francis waves as he leaves Guanabara Palace where he attended a welcoming ceremony in Rio de Janeiro
    Leaving a welcoming ceremony at Guanabara Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters
    Pope Francis waves as he arrives to lead the weekly audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican
    Greeting the weekly General Audience. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters
    Pope Francis
    Pointing to the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the balcony of the Aparecida basilica in Brazil. Domenico Stinellis—AP
    Catholic faithful with sticker bearing an image of Pope Francis on his forehead looks on while waiting for the Pope to arrive in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro
    A Catholic faithful in Brazil bears a sticker of Pope Francis on his forehead. Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters
    Pope Francis is projected on screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro
    Images of Pope Francis projected onto screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Whitaker— Reuters
    Pope Francis is pictured inside his plane before departing from Rio de Janeiro at Galeao Air Base
    Departing Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters
    Brazil Pope Photo Gallery
    A stray dog walks across the stage near the altar where Pope Francis celebrates the World Youth Day's closing Mass on the Copacabana beachfront. Victor R. Caivano—AP
    Pope Francis in Brazil
    Listening to confessions of young people in a park in Rio de Janeiro. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA
    POPE FRANCIS MEETS PIACENZA PILGRIMS
    Posing with youths in Saint Peter's Basilica.L'Osservatore Romano—EPA
    Vatican, St. Peter's Square - General Audience of Pope Francis
    Greeting the faithful on a rainy day during the General Audience.Fabio Frustaci—Eidon Press/Zuma Press
    Pope Francis wears a firefighter helmet as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican
    Arriving to lead his General Audience in a firefighter's helmet.Stefano Rellandini—Reuters
    Pope Francis is silhouetted against window light at the end of a meeting at the Vatican
    A quiet moment after meeting with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Vatican.Max Rossi—Reuters
    Pope Francis photographed in the Vatican, Rome, Italy in November-December, 2013. Pope Francis was chosen as TIME Magazine's 2013 Person of the Year.
    Marking the 110th anniversary UNITALSI, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping the sick. Francesco Zizola—NOOR for TIME
    Vatican Russia
    A private Audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. L'Osservatore Romano/AP
    APTOPIX Vatican Cold Pope
    Keeping warm during a General Audience. Alessandra Tarantino—AP
    Pope Francis' General Audience
    Comforting a disfigured man at the end of his General Audience. Claudio Peri—EPA
    Pope Francis - General Audience - Nov. 20 2013
    Blessing a sick man with deformed facial features. Evandro Inetti—Zuma Press
    ITALY-VATICAN-POPE-VISIT-EPIPHANY
    Visiting the parish of the Sant'Alfonso Maria de Liguori during the Epiphany day.L'Osservatore Romano—AFP/Getty Images
    Pope Francis reacts as he leads a Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican
    Reacting to devotees at a weekly General Audience.Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters
    A dove released during an Angelus prayer conducted by Pope Francis, is attacked by a seagull at the Vatican
    A seagull attacks a dove released during a prayer conducted by Pope Francis. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters
    A scarf thrown by faithful is seen on the face of Pope Francis during the general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican
    A scarf is tossed at Pope Francis by a faithful. Tony Gentile—Reuters
    Italy - Feature - First Pope Francis graffiti murales appears in Rome
    Italian artist Mauro Pallotta's superhero rendering of Pope Francis in a street near St. Peter's Basilica.Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis
    TOPSHOTS-VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE-AUDIENCE
    Blowing a kiss to pilgrims gathered at Saint Peter's Square. Vincenzo Pinto—AFP/Getty Images
    Obama - Pope Francis
    Meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the private library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.Vatican Pool/Contrasto/Redux
    Italy - H.M Queen Elisabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh meets Pope Francis
    With Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Vatican.Alessandra Benedetti—Vatican Pool/Corbis
    ITALY-VATICAN-POPE-MAUNDY--THURSDAY
    A wind gust lifts Pope Francis's mantle as he arrives at the traditional Washing of the Feet during Holy Thursday. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images
    ITALY-VATICAN-POPE-MAUNDY--THURSDAY
    Kissing a man's at the traditional Washing of the Feet. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images
    Vatican Pope
    Visitors take photos of Pope Francis as he speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Michael Sohn—AP

    Read next: 3 Things to Know About Ash Wednesday

    Listen to the most important stories of the day.

    More Must-Reads From TIME

    Contact us at letters@time.com

    TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.