Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
There might be a little dust on the forehead, but don't let it fool ya about what's inside.3/6/2019 March 6, 2019, is Ash Wednesday. It is not a day of grand celebration of Christ’s birth or resurrection like Christmas and Easter. Today is the day where we remember our eventual deaths. “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” These words are said as a cross of ash is made on our foreheads. They reflect God’s words to Adam and Eve after they defied God’s command to not eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Out of God’s anger he banishes the two from Eden and gives them different punishments and warnings about their lives outside of God’s paradise. God tells them a truth that we will all return to the ground because that is where we came from. This is not to say God has molded all of us out of clay as he did Adam, but it points to the fact that we are created and mortal. Many people do not like to think about their mortality, but on Ash Wednesday we openly celebrate it as we kick off our Lenten journey. We claim it as reality. We are called to accept the cross of ash, remember our lives on earth have an expiration date, and focus on the one who gives us life beyond death. Eternal life is what truly lies inside of us thanks to Jesus. It is by his grace that our dustiness does not define who we are, but rather we are defined by the one who claimed victory over death for us. As you remember you are mortal and your body has an expiration date, do not forget what truly lies inside each and every one of us. To use the words of David Lee Murphy, “There might be a little dust on the bottle, but don't let it fool ya about what's inside.” Points to Ponder
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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