As I am writing this, it is Ash Wednesday, and I am considering the words I will say to each person who chooses to receive ashes on their forehead in worship tonight, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
When I hear these words and ponder them in my heart, I cannot help but be humbled. They speak of the transitory nature of life, that no matter what we do to hang onto this world (gaining fame or fortune or using age-defying lotion) that one day it will elude us, and our spirits will pass on into the next life.
These words ground us as finite human beings; just here for a short time and then gone.
It is good to have a day in the church year to be mindful of just how dependent we are upon the grace and mercy of God for our daily lives. It is also good for us to remember that the Lenten journey for Jesus was not pleasant or easy. Even God living as a human being had to summon strength and endurance and to find resources and clarity to simply stay alive.
And while each of us are unique and treasured, at the same time, we are not all that matters. Every other human life matters too. It is only God who is enduring, as both the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Everything else eventually falls and fades away.
So, what are we to make of our time here - between the dust – when we are alive and created to love and glorify God forever? Our priorities in living are what speak to our values about life. If we are turned in on ourselves, only considering what we want and what we must do to get that, then we are missing out on the richness that comes from connections with other human beings. On the other hand, if we live in community, regularly spend time empathetically considering others needs and offering our time and energy to benefit them, then we are practicing loving our neighbor as Jesus calls us to do.
Please make the time this Lenten season to consider the priorities of your life – what do you give yourself and your attention most fully towards? What are you making of the time between the dust? My prayer is that you will seek guidance from God as you check where your heart is and adjust in the direction of God’s will. I invite you to join me in trying our best to observe a Holy Lent: spending time praying and fasting, examining our lives, doing works of love and justice, and grounding ourselves in Scripture. Please let me know if you’d like to talk through these or other matters of faith in the weeks ahead – pastor@flemingtonpres.org
May you observe a Holy Lent,
Rev. Amy