Beginning of Lent

“until you return to the fertile land, since from it you were taken; you are soil, to the soil you will return.” Genesis 3:19b

“the Lord God formed the human from the topsoil of the fertile land and blew life’s breath into his nostrils. The human came to life” Genesis 2:7

Then the Lord said, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.”  Exodus 3:5

As we approach Ash Wednesday, I asked pastors what they are planning for Ash Wednesday in our Covid burdened world.  Several said that they are having on line services where they are asking people to bring in dirt from their gardens to use for ashes this year.  That started me thinking about dirt.

Where I come from in the south, we have a saying, “they treated me like dirt!”  This means someone treated me like something they would like to sweep out the door or hide under the rug.  The problem is that the more you feel like people are treating you “like dirt” the more...continue reading