Remember that you are Dust
and to dust you shall return.
Yesterday, being Ash Wednesday was a day I spent a lot of time thinking about death and my own mortality. It began early in the morning when I attended an Imposition of Ashes service and was marked with a cross of ashes on my forehead and told, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Later in the morning I attended chapel and the sermon focussed on facing our mortality with a smile and not fearing what is to come. The words of the preacher were very powerful as she proclaimed the joy of knowing the promises of Jesus Christ. It is upon these promises and this Gospel truth that we can stand as we move towards our inevitable death. That was good news, but she did force one to think about how we live our our lives especially during these 40 days of Lent.
The fun of mortality and death did not stop at chapel. Late last night at my men's Bible Study at our favorite pub we picked up on the theme of death as well as the promises of God. We focussed on Psalm 23 and discussed our own personal valleys while also investigating what we cling to as the LORD's "rod and staff". We also delved into how we can preach Gospel truth to someone who has lost a loved one either tragically or suddenly. The conversation was wonderful and left me longing for more discussion about the prophetic voice of the Gospel in the times of deep suffering.
So here I am today, a little sleep deprived still wondering how do we do this proclaiming stuff in the midst of suffering world. Don't get me wrong, I believe it with my whole heart (the promises) but I realize many struggle to understand the truth- and they have every right to. As I read my elert from the NY Times this morning I was reminded once again of the hostility that exists in our world- North Korea Says It Has Nuclear Weapons and Rejects Talks- NY Times Article- . Wow- what a frightening world we indeed live in. Yet, as we go through our days we must cling to the promise of Psalm 23- We shall fear nothing, and we can say that because of the crucicifed and risen Christ. Thanks be to God.
Yesterday, being Ash Wednesday was a day I spent a lot of time thinking about death and my own mortality. It began early in the morning when I attended an Imposition of Ashes service and was marked with a cross of ashes on my forehead and told, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Later in the morning I attended chapel and the sermon focussed on facing our mortality with a smile and not fearing what is to come. The words of the preacher were very powerful as she proclaimed the joy of knowing the promises of Jesus Christ. It is upon these promises and this Gospel truth that we can stand as we move towards our inevitable death. That was good news, but she did force one to think about how we live our our lives especially during these 40 days of Lent.
The fun of mortality and death did not stop at chapel. Late last night at my men's Bible Study at our favorite pub we picked up on the theme of death as well as the promises of God. We focussed on Psalm 23 and discussed our own personal valleys while also investigating what we cling to as the LORD's "rod and staff". We also delved into how we can preach Gospel truth to someone who has lost a loved one either tragically or suddenly. The conversation was wonderful and left me longing for more discussion about the prophetic voice of the Gospel in the times of deep suffering.
So here I am today, a little sleep deprived still wondering how do we do this proclaiming stuff in the midst of suffering world. Don't get me wrong, I believe it with my whole heart (the promises) but I realize many struggle to understand the truth- and they have every right to. As I read my elert from the NY Times this morning I was reminded once again of the hostility that exists in our world- North Korea Says It Has Nuclear Weapons and Rejects Talks- NY Times Article- . Wow- what a frightening world we indeed live in. Yet, as we go through our days we must cling to the promise of Psalm 23- We shall fear nothing, and we can say that because of the crucicifed and risen Christ. Thanks be to God.
Ash Wednesday made me think about the cheesy song from The Lion King - the Circle of Life. There is a sense of the natural rhythm of creation that from dust we were created and to dust we shall return. All this has come from God - our very essence, our lives, our new lives in Christ, our relationships, the world around us. This is where the struggle for me comes to the fore - how is it that a God that would create such an incredibly complex and wonderful thing as a human body would create a world as torn as ours is. In answer to that question I think of the vast vareity of colors and fragrances that exist in flora and fauna around us, and how it must be true for us as well. Just as there are plants and animals who have taken their gifts and use them against others, so too with humanity. We have the added blessing of free will - we are given the choice to follow the call of God or not and this provides, at least for me, the true beauty of Creation - we are not all cookie cutter people. The downside to all of this is that we are not all cookie cutter people. If we were all the same, where would the vitality and excitement of life come from?
Posted by
Leland |
2:34 PM