remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return
aka, "um, you've got some schmutz on your forehead."
As I am every year, I was once again blown away by the Ash Wednesday liturgy, especially the Litany of Penitence, which includes:
We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives, We confess to you, Lord.
Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people, We confess to you, Lord.
Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves, We confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work, We confess to you, Lord.
Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us, We confess to you, Lord.
There are plenty of 'ouch' moments in there, plenty of things I'd rather not look at, thankyewverymuch. Which is the whole point of Lent - it is time set aside to look at things we'd rather not look at.
Today is all about, "hey, guess what, you're going to die! You will be a corpse, and return to the dust. I'm sorry, what was that incredibly important thing that you were talking about again? Why are you angry at that person? What are you working for? What do you think you need to get by? What have you broken that you still have time to fix?"
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