Our human frailty and imperfection demands a certain sense of humiliation. This humiliation of imperfection leads to sincere humility. "Humility" means that we are "ground down" (think of the word 'hummus'). In this "grinding down" we come face to face with the nature of our dust-edness.
This humility can lead to a recognition and acknowledgment of who God is in comparison to who we are. Reminding ourselves that we were formed out of dust and unto dust we shall return is a way of acknowledging God's status as creator and ours as created. It reveals our dependence on Christ Jesus as our savior.
Let us not miss the coming opportunity this Lent to abandon our need to be in control, even in control of our own spiritual lives. We mustn't "do" anything spectacular or extraordinary other than to admit that God does all in us and for us. If we "do" anything, it's simply remaining faithful to our Covenantal relationship with God by living the gospel through care for God's sons and daughters in need and showing up for prayer or services.
May we each have a Lent that grinds us down into the dust so that Jesus Christ, our Savior, can raise us up out of that dust into a glorified body!
