Dust to Dust

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 

                                                          (Gen 3:18-19 KJV)

To the dust you shall return was the sentence for eating of the tree of knowledge which God had forbidden, Adam's sentence was death. His sentence (and ultimately ours) was that he would return to the dust from which he was formed.

There in the middle of the garden was also the tree of life. Adam and Eve had neglected to partake of the food that was good for them; that God had given them and desired for them to eat. They rejected the fruit which gives life. Instead they chose that which they were told they could not have.

How often it is that we, too, neglect the free gift of life given to us through the sacrifice of His Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ! He has given himself to us and for us that we might have life. Jesus, himself has told us that he is the bread of life.

"This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:50-51)

How often we neglect to come to the table that He has prepared for us! He says come and eat. "This is my body given for you for the forgiveness of sins." (Luke 22:19) Do not neglect this life-giving gift!

In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther wrote that the benefit of receiving the Lord's Sacrament of Holy Communion "...is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation." That is the Good News.

But, today is a grievous day. It Ash Wednesday and we are reminded that we all have turned our backs on God. We all have done what we ought not to have done. Today we remember the sentence: "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Even so, the tears of repentance are also tears of thanksgiving that Jesus has lifted this sentence for us by his own death and his resurrection.  

God's Peace - Pr. J