February 21, 2007
Ash Wednesday
The Rev. Canon Kathleen Kelly
Hear the Good News, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return!” Madison Avenue would probably not encourage us to adopt this as an appealing slogan, but we have come here today to hear these words as ashes are applied to our foreheads. As I reflected upon these words again this year, I remembered someone in my life who seemed to grasp the Good News in them. It was my 3rd Grade teacher. In the first week of school, she gathered us all and gave us this pitch: “There is something of great worth here in the room, and I am going to give you all a few moments to find it. It is such a treasure that it will last forever!” Needless to say, we were pretty excited. Most of us began scurrying around the room looking behind and underneath everything. A few kids stayed at their desks, maybe feeling they were too slow to have a chance. The teacher encouraged them to get up and assured us there was enough of this treasure for everyone. I hadn’t thought about this for a long time, but I remember Johnny Mitchell and I both caught sight of something shiny in the corner at just the same moment, so we shoved each other trying to get there first. We knocked each other in opposite directions, and another kid got to the corner before either of us. It was just some old glitter stuck to the floor, though. No treasure. After a time, we all got discouraged. We hadn’t found anything. The teacher waited until we were all back at our desks and then had this to say, “The treasure has been with you the whole time you were looking. It is the opportunity to make new friends this year.” One smart kid waved his hand and said, “Hey! You said it would last forever. Friends don’t last forever. My best friend from last year moved.” I can still remember her calm reply, “yes, but the good feelings you had toward your friend are part of something that is forever.” This was a public school, so that’s the most she could say to hint at an enduring source for love.
At the time, we were not amused. Now, I know it may have been the wisest lesson I ever heard in school, and it certainly captured the Good News in, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.” We kids were looking for something tangible, but all tangible things pass away. These words remind us that the things of the body pass away. They remind us to cast our attention toward things of eternal worth. I think my 3rd Grade teacher understood Ash Wednesday very well. She must have gone to all four services!
I won’t speak for you, but I’m not sure I’ve progressed much past 3rd Grade in this realm. Most of us still spend the vast majority of our energy on things that pass away. One disease that keeps our attention locked on things that pass away is called “If only.” If only I hadn’t spent so much money at Christmas time, life would be better. If only I hadn’t wasted so many years on that relationship, everything would be different. If only I had done this or that differently when raising my kids… . If only I hadn’t made that momentary error in judgment that has cost me so dearly … . If only I hadn’t made that stupid remark … . If only I had done at least 10% of the good I thought about doing… . The “If only” disease doesn’t just keep us focused on things that pass away. It keeps us focused on things that are completely over and done with already! How fruitless, and yet it’s endemic. If I haven’t hit the bull’s eye on your chest with these guesses, then bring to mind the “If only” that weighs down your thoughts.
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” is very good news when we are suffering from “If only.” It reminds us that the things we have made so important will not endure, as even our bodies will not endure. It points us to toward the only known full cure for “If only:” Jesus. We fret about whether our lives are worthwhile given our mistakes, but Paul proclaims exactly how our lives become worthwhile. It’s right in our second reading for today. Paul proclaims that in Jesus, we “… become the righteousness of God.” What a bold claim! It is very hard to take in this proclamation—In Jesus we become the righteousness of God. We need to set aside a special time each year to strive for deeper acceptance of this claim. Holy Week is that time, and Lent is our time for getting ready. We need time to open every pore of our being to this salve, this salvation. The best way to open ourselves is to become conscious of the “If only’s” that keep us weighed down in the past, in temporal things. The encouragement we receive this night to put aside that which passes away and turn toward the enduring truth Paul proclaims is truly Good News.
Hear the Good News: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return!”