A reflection by Fr. Dave Warren, SFM, on Joel 2.12-18, 2 Cor 5.20-6.2 and Matthew 6.1-6,16-18
“Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” With these words in our ears and with ashes on our foreheads, we begin the season of Lent.
“Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
Who wants to be reminded that we are going to die? We know that life is short. If we don’t know it yet, we’ll find out soon enough that life is short. Who needs the reminder?
We all need the reminder. In the Old Testament, the Psalmist prays, “Teach us, Lord, the shortness of our lives that we may gain wisdom of heart” (Ps. 90.12).
“Remember that you dust and unto dust you shall return.”
These words are not a threat; they are an invitation to wisdom. They are an invitation to come home – to come home to ourselves, to come home to others, to come home to Mother Earth, and to come home to God.
We all admire down-to-earth people. They are who they are. They are free. Wouldn’t you like to be free? Wouldn’t you like to just be who you are? Wouldn’t you like to be free of the pressure to be someone else? Wouldn’t you like to discard all the unrealistic goals and all the social pretensions? Lent is an invitation to come to down-to-earth before we come down-to-earth at the hour of our death.
“Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
Death is the great leveler. Rich or poor, powerful or powerless, famous or unknown, we are all going to die. We’re all in the same boat. We have all come from the same place and we all have the same destination. Lent is an invitation to make connection with our fellow passengers – and especially with our fellow passengers who have less than we have.
“Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
Rich or poor, we all belong to the earth. Poor old Mother Earth! We, her children, don’t treat her very well. We pollute the land, the water, and the air. We deplete her finite resources. Let’s give Mother Earth a break in Lent! Let’s reduce, re-use, and re-cycle!
“Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
Dust is the place where God meets us. Lent is a time to come home to God. We read in the Bible that “The Lord God fashioned man from the dust of the earth. Then He breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being” (Genesis 2: 7). There it is! God doesn’t meet us somewhere up in the air; God meets us here on the ground. God meets us and we meet God when – and only when – we are down-to-earth.
“Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
Scientists tell us that we are products of stardust and time. God has been working with stardust and time for millions of years to make of us who we are today. But God isn’t finished with us yet! We are still very much a work-in-progress. Lent is a time to be dust again so that God can continue his creative work in us. During the season of Lent, we give God a little more time to work on us.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. I’ve been asking myself, “What will I do for Lent?” It’s a good question. But it’s not the most important question. The most important question is “What does God want to do in us during Lent?” In Lent, God wants to do what He is wants to do all the time: God wants to transform us. He wants to bring Christ to completion within us – within you, within me and within all of us together.
“What will I do for Lent?” It’s not the most important question. All the same, it’s a good question. The ashes give us the answer: “Come back to earth! Come back to the place you never really left!”