By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
Who could have imagined
that these words:
Remember that you are dust
and to dust you shall return
spoken, as ashes
in the shape of a cross
were etched on our foreheads
would become
a stark, lived reality
Of course we accepted them
in good faith
and with the best of intentions
But, to live into them
and to live out of them
so drastically
was hardly what we imagined.
And so we need time O God
Time to get our heads around
what it is you ask of us
in this wilderness
in this uncharted season
for which there is no manual.
We need time
to flap around
doing all the things
Or time to sit and wail
because we’re paralysed by fear
We need time
And, O Lord, you’ve given us
plenty of that.
So may we take the time
to bring our focus back
to you
Creator
Redeemer
Sustainer
who created us out of dust
who breathed life into us
who calls us beloved
May we take time to listen
to what it is
you whisper to us
of who you want us to be
when we’ve been stripped
of all the things
that give us purpose
and importance
Draw us near, O God
to discern once more
what matters
to discover once again
how to be a neighbour
to find new ways
of being salt and light
and dust!
And in naked vulnerability
may we arise
with the dust still on us
still defining us
to be
all you call us
and empower us
to be.
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