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In the beginning, when God created humankind, the book of Genesis tells us that “God formed a man (Hebrew: adam) from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” (Gen. 2:7, NRSV)
The Hebrew word adam literally means “dirt man.” Indeed, he was made by combining dust and spirit. (The Hebrew word ruah can be translated as breath, air, wind, or spirit.)
On Ash Wednesday, we hear the phrase, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” It is a reminder of how it all started. Dust is our beginning, and it will be our ending, at least for the mortal part of ourselves.
Why do we do this every year?
It is a reminder of what actually matters.
Like Adam, each of us is made up of both flesh and spirit. Within us there is that which is mere matter, and there is also that which has a share in God’s eternal being. The trick is to know the difference.
In other words—and as was central to Jesus’ teaching—we need to choose our priorities. Will we set our hearts on that which passes away, or on that which is imperishable?
We are dust, and we are also more. It is liberating when we put the dust of our being in its place so that we can honor that part of us that is imperishable.
Throughout this season that begins today, many of us will take on a Lenten discipline. We will practice making intentional choices to give something up or take something on. Whatever you may choose for your practice this year, I pray that it will help you put matter and spirit in their proper place, and that you will be empowered to live more fully for that which is above, for the things that give our lives their true meaning and connect us to the life of God, for those things which are imperishable.
Blessed Lent,
Rob+
Rob Fisher
Rector
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