I’m sure you all know the program this belongs to… in fact you could probably finish it:
“As sands through the hour glass, so are…” Anyone know this?? I knew you would! The idea is, time is fleeting. Tempest Fugit! The first time I noticed time going fast was the summer after my graduation from High School. It seemed to fly by. And from then on, time has been going faster and faster.
The words said during the imposition of ashes come to mind: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return”
We can talk about how fast time goes, we can make jokes about it, we can even smile about it.
A very good friend of mine just recently found out he has inoperable cancer, and the doctors have given him 12 months, with chemo. He’s 56 years old and unless a miracle happens, he knows he has about one year left.
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return” takes on a whole different meaning when you have a general idea about when that will be.
So in between the “dust” and “dust”… what’s the point of all this? Where’s the meaning is all this? Is there inherent meaning in life… that we need to look for… to find? Is it obvious? Is it sitting right in front of us? Or do we have to dig around for it?
The actor Alan Alda was invited to give the commencement speech at his daughter’s graduation a few years ago. He told a story about his years in college, where a professor told him basically that the meaning in life was that which we gave it! It was our job to bring meaning and vision to life!
What’s your reaction to this? Does it bother you? He said for him this was very freeing, it was liberating. I can take part in making some order out of the chaos!
But what if there is inherent meaning in life? What if we are able and invited to find the meaning that helps bring some light to the dark parts of our world? Does that sound better to you?
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
When I was in the Army, there was a fellow Chaplain who was formerly a hospice chaplain. And he used to say we all have five things we need to say in life before we leave this earth:
I love you
I forgive you
Forgive me
Thank you
Good bye
What if there is inherent meaning in life? Then these five things fit right in! They would fit into a deeper plan for better living!
What if the meaning in life comes from our searching? Then these five things would still speak, still help us take something and make some sacred sense of it.
I love you
I forgive you
Forgive me
Thank you
Good bye
Ash Wed is a day focused on our mortality… “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
However we might come to this… we’re called to travel a path of meaning… of lifting up sacred moments between the two “dusts”.
Knowing that God dwells deeply in our lives… certainly more visible in the sacred moments… those five simple statements help us in our journey to finding God and deeper meaning:
I love you
I forgive you
Forgive me
Thank you
Good bye
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return”… and remember that God is with you every step of the way!
Will you join me during this season of lent in praying for at least one person or one family in your church community every day. Lord knows we all need prayer! People in any church community have things going on in their lives that they probably haven’t told anyone about. Things that they still need prayer for! So, let’s include someone in our daily prayers. When you have a quiet moment, take a couple of deep breaths, ask God who in your community needs prayer right now. If some one, or a family comes to mind, remember them daily over these next 40 days of Lent. And feel free to include them in your prayers on Sunday as well!
May this season of Lent bring good moments of recollection, introspection, and reconciliation!
Can I get an Amen!?!?!
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