ASH WEDNESDAY

[cappie]

Ash Wednesday reminds us all that we are mortal. It’s a day for everyone, when we are all reminded that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. If we are lucky enough to grow old, we do see the lines on our faces as signs that mortality is creeping closer. We have also all known people in the prime of their lives who died way too early. Most of us know children who passed, far too early. We are all, however, on a march toward an end. Whether we like it or not, Ash Wednesday is here to confront us with this uncomfortable reality.

Today we hear the words of Jesus, telling us not to look dismal when we fast, and not to boast of our fasting — as we prepare to do just that: mark our heads with ash. This may well be Jesus’ reminder to us that we are all, in a way, kind of hypocrites. That none of us is beyond self-reflection. Are the ashes a show? And if not, why? What are they for, really? 

We are here because we are dust, but we are beloved dust, redeemed by God. We are here to begin the journey of Lent, to tell the story of Jesus crucified and risen, not so that God will love us, but because God already does. We are God’s beloved dust.

Despite everything going on in the world, the liturgy rolls on too, as it has for two thousand years. The church has told the story of Jesus through war, famine, and plague, not to distract or entertain itself, not to pay its dues, but because it sheds light on human life in every age.

When you see suffering and death, whether on the news or in your own life, you may feel powerless. You may feel powerless as you watch people you love suffer. You may feel powerless in your own suffering, whatever that looks like for you personally. Human life leaves us all feeling powerless at some point.

Today, we acknowledge that we are dust. We are powerless to help ourselves or others. On Ash Wednesday, we are called to humility. We cannot save ourselves because we are not Saviours.

But Ash Wednesday does not leave us without hope.

In the midst of it, we are still encouraged to dream on, because we are redeemed. Not because we paid our dues. Not because of who we are or what we have done. But because of who God is.

We are dust: God’s beloved dust. God creates humanity — all of us — out of the dust of the earth. And so therefore, let us, as dust, tell the story of Lent and Holy Week and Easter again, for it is the story of our redemption. It is the story of how God saved the world, even as it exists right now, in this moment.

We are mortal. We are not Saviours. There is only one Saviour, and it is his story that we shall tell as these weeks unfold. 

 

[Didacus]

Thank you for poisting Cappie.  God bless.