Dust to Dust, but Glory to Glory [a new Ash Wednesday meditation]

It feels odd to be thinking of ashes and death (signifying the beginning of Lent) and at the same time be celebrating love and loved ones. But for most of us the two do connect.

So I would like to share another meditation from our new book, Glory in Disguise: Seeing God in Our Every Day. [See new page on my website]
Watch how the two “observances connect for you.

Dust to Glory: Honoring a Sanctuary

...for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.
Genesis 3:19 ESV

These words, spoken every Ash Wednesday in many Christian churches, have taken on a new meaning for me since my 91 year old mom passed away. Something arrested me the day of my mom's funeral. Maybe it started with the incense and the reverence afforded the treatment of my dear mama's frail little body being put to rest. I was undone by deep sobs of realization.

It wasn't the finality of it all. It had already been final when she had breathed her last, days before. No. It was the “sacredness” that came crashing through.

My mama's feeble and now even ashen body had been the very dwelling place of GOD!

And that sacredness started long before her death. The sacredness was about the Glory, the Living God Himself, indwelling that humble little person, Jeanette Galuszka Renner -- day after day, year after year of her joyful, suffering life.

The gilded family Bible sitting on our coffee table had declared it everywhere:

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple [a Holy of Holies] of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

“...the Spirit of God dwells in you.”

”But we have this treasure [the glorious Christ] in jars of clay [our bodies],
to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
(1 Corinthians 6:19; Colossians 1:27; Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 4:7)

And on and on. In fact, it proved true her favorite verse that she had often quoted to me as a child:

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him...”

And then is added...

“...these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 ESV

A friend named Don had tried to tell me this very truth not long before he went home to Jesus. Though his body had been decaying, Don knew that Jesus was living in that falling apart "dwelling." And he wanted me to write about it.

I had another friend, young but soon "going home." Her “divine dwelling place” was getting more and more misshapen and failing. Oh, but the glory! There was no doubt when you entered her room, you entered a sacred place where God lived.

All of them, and we too who know our Lord, are “sacred places,” Holies of Holies of the Living God. And the Glory is there, because He is there. It doesn't matter how frail, broken, misshapen we think we may be. We are each a perfect home for God Himself on this earth, despite our "dustiness."

And that's not all -- soon very soon, glory forever.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV

The Echo of Hymns

The old country church was abandoned, forgotten
Stained glass windows broken, wooden door rotting.

But inside there’s an echo of hymns that were sung,
Prayers that were prayed and renewed lives begun.

For it once was a place people went to pursue Him
There’s a hint of His presence, though the structure’s in ruin.

It’s the same with our bodies when we breathe our last breath.
There’s a dignity that remains even after our death.

For our bodies, no matter how crippled or frail,
Hold the Spirit of the One who once tore the veil.

For He conquered all sickness and death when He rose
And He’s lived deep within us, for that’s what He chose.

And He Who’s so loving and gracious to forgive us
Will accompany us Home to spend eternity with us.

Penny Mandeville

Prayer
Glorious Lord God, what a privilege to be Your dwelling place on this earth. Thank you for brothers and sisters who have reflected Your Glory in the midst of their dustiness. May we show forth who You are even in our frail and fading humanity. In Jesus’ Everlasting Name. Amen.

Reflections
1. Make a list of those who have already gone home to Jesus. How did they each show forth the glory of God in their “dustiness”?

2. Make a list of loved ones, friends, others who are showing forth the glory of God in the midst of their frailty, handicap, sickness, declining years. How do you see the Lord in them?

3. Reflect. Talk to the Lord about the lists. Thank the Lord for faithful witnesses, past and present. Pray for those still alive. Talk to the Lord about your thoughts. Journal.