marked

Today is Ash Wedneday, the first day of Lent. It is a day when many Christians, particularly Catholics, have their foreheads marked with ashes in the sign of the cross. The minister says the words: "Remember, man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." (Latin: Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris.) Lent is the season of spiritual preparation leading to Easter. It is a time for repentance, introspection and spiritual exercises.

There's something mysteriously beautiful about receiving that mark, being publicly marked and set apart as belonging to Christ. And there is something truly humbling about those words, quia pulvis es--you are dust. That mark and those words do not distinguish between race, sex, or social standing. They transcend politics and opinions. In the end, when all is said and done and everything else stripped away we all stand naked, poor, and helpless before God. We are little clumps of clay without life unless he breathes it into us.

There's another Latin saying that I also remember to keep myself in check. Tempus fugit, memento mori--Time flies, remember your death. All that I can accumulate, all the stature I can gain, all the wealth & toys I can store up will turn to dust just like this shell of a mortal body I inhabit. The only things that truly last are relationships; my relationship with God, with my wife, my children, my friends, my neighbors and my coworkers. Those are the only lasting legacy any of us can lay claim to, and they have eternal impact, but how much of my day is devoted to developing and deepening those bonds? Not nearly enough.

That is what Lent is for, to give us the opportunity to take stock & evaluate things. The practice of giving something up for Lent was & is supposed to be a means of fasting for the purpose of making changes. Giving up chocolate is nice & might help my waistline, but it does little for those things that have eternal remifications. That's why I'm taking advantage of this season of Lent and the grace that is present from God for change--metanoia, translated from Greek as repent means to change direction. I'm going to seek hard after God and the people close to me in order to build something that will last and stand when my ashes are scattered to the winds.