MOIRAJO
  • Weekly Devotionals
  • Weekly Message
  • Sermon Podcasts
  • Links
  • Contact

Remember you are dust....March 5, 2017

3/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture

"And the LORD God formed the human one out of the dust of the ground and breathed into its nostrils the breath of life, and the human one became a living soul.  Gen. 2:7"


Listen:  Gungor, Beautiful Things, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is6weMrenls

"Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  With these words we are marked with ash and begin our Lenten journey.  Ashes are a sign of our mortality as well as a sign of repentance. We are called to spend the next six weeks in prayer and reflection, good works, and alms-giving so that we can stand with Jesus on Good Friday, as Jesus stands with us every day of our lives.

Ashes are also a reminder of the earth from which we came.  The words for ground ("red clay"), human being ("man," literally "red one,") and blood are all related in Hebrew. It is as if the "red stuff" inside is a liquid form of the earth, from which God fashioned us. We are Spirit-breathed lumps of clay, dirt of the earth, shaped by God's very hands.

However, dirt has a bad rap.  We say things like, "poor as dirt," "dull as dirt," "cheap as dirt." Anyone with a "dirty mind" or telling "dirty jokes" is someone talking and thinking inappropriately and should have their mouth washed out with soap.  "Down and dirty" means unvarnished and done hastily. A "dirty dog" is a sneaky person.  To give "a dirty look" is to look at someone in an angry way. To "play dirty" is to cheat.  To "get your hands dirty" means you get involved in all aspects of a project -- especially the unpleasant aspects. "Dirty laundry" is all our unpleasant secrets. No one likes to be treated "like dirt."  This is not the dirt from which God created us!

Yet it is said that each shovel of dirt contains more life than all the human beings ever born. The dirt under our feet is teeming with unseen life, and nurtures the plants, feeds the animals that sustain us and make our world beautiful.   There is an unseen universe in every handful of dirt we scoop up.  The same is true with each of us.  We are teeming with untapped potential.  

Lent is a time to rediscover this potential and reclaim who we are.  We are dirt.  In the human sense, yes, we have "dirtied" our soul and need to be cleansed by repentance.  However we are dirt as God fashioned us.  Our psyches have layers, like dirt.  There is hidden life,an amazing universe within our souls.  There are fruits of the spirit  -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23) ready to grow if we but tend the dirt/soil of our soul. 

Instead of thinking of the Lenten season as a time of "giving up," think of Lent is more like planting and tending a garden, getting reacquainted with soil after the long frost of winter. So prepare the soil/dirt.  Weed out the growth that is unproductive. Plant. Plant what your life needs at this time. Patience? Acceptance?  Generosity? Faith?  Right priorities?  

This Lent, reconnect with the dirt-stuff of your life. That primal material of our being that is teaming with life that needs to be acknowledged and claimed.  Remember who you are. God's own. Made from dust, and to dust we shall return.  From dust/dirt/soil, we bring forth beautiful things, to the glory of God.

Today think of yourself as dirt, connected to all the dirt of the earth. 
How will you prepare, during Lent, your soil/dirt for future growth?


Pray:  "Lord, Divine Gardener, this Lent show me how to reconnect to the soil of my soul, the dirt and earth.  Help me plant the seeds of habits  that will make me a loving, generous servant of Jesus."

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Moirajo is a minister, social worker, wife, mother, writer and animal lover. That's just for starters. Join the story, there's so much we can share together! 

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

    Categories

    All

    Bible,  Living life on life's terms, spirituality

    RSS Feed

© Moira Ahearne 2017. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.