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Faith Ministry Stories

Remember that we are dust

Posted by Pastor John Klawiter on

You may see people with something on their foreheads this week that requires you to do a double take. No, it’s not a lightning bolt like Harry Potter.

Christians remember the beginning of a season called Lent by wearing the sign of the cross on our foreheads made out of the ashes of palm branches.

This begins a reflective time as we prepare for Easter on April 12th.  

As the ash is applied to the forehead, the words “remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return” are spoken. This is a circle of life statement—remember we are created out of the earth and that each living and breathing thing is connected. When this life is over, our bodies become dust again.

There is a story of Jesus in the wilderness which has inspired generations of people to spend the time before Easter giving up something for Lent.  Jesus gets tempted by the devil. The belief is that our behaviors should emulate Jesus.

The tradition is that you forbid yourself from having something that you really enjoy—like chocolate, meat, tv, or alcohol.  Without these things in your life, we can be like Jesus facing temptation in the desert. This concept is called “fasting”—because Jesus fasted from eating during those 40 days.

But… what if there is another way.

Instead of giving up something for Lent, or in addition to this, what if you did something that strengthened your relationship with God, the divine, or helped you find personal peace?

Does skipping donuts for two months make us more spiritual? It could… but wouldn’t our spiritual depth have a greater impact if we spent five minutes a day in silent prayer or meditation?

What if we focused on serving others and put our energy into thinking beyond ourselves?

Fasting from “stuff” might not change our hearts. Redirecting our energy outward might create new habits that we choose to continue long after Easter is over.

One habit our church has created is that we gather food throughout the month of March to deliver to the local food shelves. The need is great. The data is staggering.

Across East Central Minnesota, over 8% of our neighbors do not have enough money to buy food for their family. 12.5% of children in Minnesota experience food insecurity. Over half of the individuals who visit Family Pathways Food Shelves, for example, are under 18 or over 65 years of age.

As the abundance of donations from the holidays dwindle the need in our community continues. The largest grassroots food and fund drive in the state, the Minnesota FoodShare March Campaign brings together community organizations, businesses, and faith communities to help restock food shelves statewide.

There is still snow on the ground but let me plant a seed that you might consider. The food shelves love to provide healthy, fresh produce. Do you have a garden, or have you thought about starting one? Create goals on how much of your fresh produce you could give away by the fall. What a gift that would be!

Remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. Maybe some of that dust can be planted and harvested to produce fresh food to help others this summer? I’ll get my hands dirty to help.