Ash Wednesday, February 26th | stem corrosion & dark rust
Photo: RVAWTFBBQ
O God, within this strange and quickened dust
The beating heart controls the coursing blood
In discipline that holds in check the flood
But cannot stem corrosion and dark rust.
In flesh’s solitude I count it blest
That only you, my lord, can see my heart
With passion’s darkness tearing it apart
With storms of self, and tempests of unrest.
But your love breaks through blackness, bursts with light;
We separate ourselves, but you rebind
In Dayspring all our fragments; body, mind,
And spirit join, unite against the night.
Healed by your love, corruption and decay
Are turned, and whole, we greet the light of day.
(“Within This Strange and Quickened Dust” by Madeleine L’Engle)
Genesis 3:19
19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Psalm 103:1-14
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 6 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.
Heavenly Father, I confess that I so often forget I am created, that I was made by you. You alone know my frame, yet I foolishly hide from you, thinking I can manage your opinion of me. You alone see our hearts and all that is in them: the wants, the temptations, the transgressions. And you love us still. Father forgive us—forgive us for attempting to hide from you what only you can see. Today, on Ash Wednesday, help us all remember that we are dust. May your love stem the corrosion and break through the rust that sin casts on our hearts. We turn to you to rebind us, to make us whole, through the grace of your Son, your Word, our Dayspring, Jesus Christ. We ask all of this in his name. Amen.
(Prayer written by Val Catrow)