Divine Dust

One of the most embarrassing pastoral moments I have experienced was when reciting the liturgical phrase “dust to dust, ashes to ashes” while leading a worship service. For some reason in the rush of the service, my mind read the phrase but my tongue didn’t pronounce the ‘h’ in ashes as clearly as I should have and a very different word came out of my mouth. 

I’m sure you can imagine how that went. Yes, it was very awkward. 

This phrase, “dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” and the other common phrase “from dust you have come to dust you shall return” are both recited on the liturgical holy day of Ash Wednesday. Marking the beginning of the season of Lent, Ash Wednesday is, at its essence, a day commemorating our humanness. 

In the Christian tradition, it is a day that reminds us we are human beings, not human doings. It acknowledges we are finite beings trying to live messy, yet sacred lives. It’s a reminder that we are not God, but mortals. Our greatest mistakes, failures, successes, and tasks do not define us. Instead, we are reminded that we are vulnerable, valuable, precious, and impermanent. We are dust, yet we are the Divine’s.

In some ways, it’s a day that encourages us to be; to be present, be human, be ourselves instead of striving to be something we can never attain. Through it all, there is a message of hope. Our mortality and suffering does not have the final say but allows us to live more fully. If I’m honest, I think we all need more presence, humanness, and hope in our lives. 

A tradition of any Ash Wednesday service is the imposition of ashes on one’s forehead as a physical and tangible reminder of our humanness and our hope when we remember this. Next Wednesday, March 2nd, we will offer informal opportunities for members of the campus community to receive ashes, to be smeared, and have the reminder of our mortality. Our “Ashes on the Go” will be in Drysdale from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. and from 3 – 4:30 p.m. in Schewel. 

You are invited to stop by and see one of the chaplains on the go and let us remind you that you are dust, but you are the Divine’s. 

From dust you have come, to dust you shall return. Turn and have hope.