Ash Wednesday Reflection

Reflection for Feb 6, 2008
Ash Wednesday is a day when we are reminded of our mortality. The phrases we say as we anoint heads with ashes is “from dust you came and to dust you return.” They come from Genesis 3:19 after Adam and Eve have eaten from what was God’s alone. They remind us of our mortality. It is scary to think of ourselves as dust, and yet we are also the breath of God. God took dust and breathed life into it. We are frail particles and immortal ether. I am more emotional this Ash Wednesday because I look at James, my 7-month old son. Is he dust? (No I have 24 hours of back labor to prove that! How much easier birth would be if it was a science experiment like those neon powder figures we used to just add water too!). And yet he and I are both mortal. At 4 months, James went from a sleeping body into a smiling and laughing child. I could see God’s breath in him then and now. We are dust but we are also full of God. When I imposed ashes on foreheads last night, I said “From dust you came, dust you shall return.” I also paraphrased from a verse of Romans, “From God you came, and to God you return.” We are always with God, for God is in us.
I hope you will all consider reading Romans these 40 days of Lent. Just 5-15 verses a day (with Sundays off as a Sabbath). Our youth leaders will take turns reflecting on it and posting it to the blog. Feel free to comment if you are moved.
by Rev. Beth