Remember U R Dust

It happens every now and then. Valentine's Day falls on Ash Wednesday, an occurrence that is sure to draw out ironic humour. Like the meme circulating of a pink love heart stamped with the words 'Remember U R Dust'. Ecclesiastical humour memes are the best.

Contrast the hyper commercialised pomp and hedonism of Valentine's Day with the sombre, penitential, ascetic character of Ash Wednesday. It's pure comedy gold.

But the love heart meme got the phrase stuck in my head 'Remember U R Dust'. Or rather, 'Remember you are dust', the traditional phrase used at the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.'

There are the repentant mentions of dust and ashes: 'therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes' (Job 42:6). The penitent king of the Nineveh casts off his royal robes, covers himself with sackcloth and sits in ashes (Jonah 3). Isaiah speaks derisively of the showy pantomime of sackcloth and ashes in the absence of true repentance, the proof of which is to be seen in freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry and housing the homeless poor (Isaiah 58:6-7). Dust and ashes are heavy with meaning.

But this year 'Remember U R Dust' prompted in my mind another reference: 'then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being' (Genesis 2:7). In the hands of God, dust is heavy with potential. Dust wasn't beneath God. God is portrayed as one actively and intimately involved in a creative process. Being in the middle of a creative mess is who God is.

I was trying to think about what to focus on devotionally, for myself, this Lent--to give up something or take up something. 'Remember U R Dust' suggested to me a focus on a kind of 'sober realism'. I acknowledge that this doesn't sound exciting. Go with me on this...

The image of a human person shaped from dust and enlivened by God is delightfully freeing. It is a call to let go of notions! Let go of ego! Let go of the will to be the superhuman 'get-it-all-done' task accomplisher! Remember U R Dust--dust only came to life because of the breath of God. Dust is only sustained in life by the breath of God. God is the origin and and the final destination of life. To be sober-minded and realistic is to acknowledge limits (of energy, capacity, creativity, and knowledge) and to joyfully place trust in God to sustain, guard and guide when our my natural capacities have reached their limits. It is also to acknowledge that in my limited-ness, I make mistakes and say and do wrong things. Remember U R Dust is also a reminder of the need to 'say sorry' and to seek to do better.

So here's to a Lent of 'sober realism'--I admit that phrase is not likely to go viral or take over anything by storm. But I'm looking forward to a journey over the next weeks of rejoicing in my own limitations, and an open-hearted curiosity to see what God can do with a bit of dust.