The Nazareth Page -A gospel meditation for your home

March 2nd, 2025 – Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time and Ash Wednesday, Luke 6:39-45

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Having been carried around the sun over eighty times (a way of describing my 80-plus years of existence here on Earth) and having been an amateur astronomer for most of those years, I know part of origin of my existence is star dust created billions of years ago. Through the power of gravity dust particles came together to make stars and planets and water and plants and animals. Eventually you and me.

This week we celebrate Ash Wednesday when we are reminded that the dust we are made of will again become dust. But that’s only a part of the story.

That’s because we believe that existence beyond death is in our forecast. Our dust will return to the Earth from which it came, but the most important part of us will continue to exist. We are all created by God and will experience life with God forever. So, Ash Wednesday is a reminder of our origins but says nothing about our future. That revelation comes on Easter.

So, we can be consoled, even on Ash Wednesday, with hope. Dust becomes spirit. We are more than our material selves. Much more. Some call this inner side of us “soul” and some prefer “spirit” or “person.” It’s all the same. It’s the unique, God-given side of us that is created and deeply loved by God. And God’s creative power will never be exhausted. Think of it as that battery power that will never lose its capacity to support our existence.

Of course, the reality of our existence after that dust is gone is almost too much to accept. Of course it is! It’s the great miracle that is our life, our existence, you and me. We are born of dust, but we die into eternal life.

There was a time when we weren’t even a thought in anyone’s mind. When my grandparents left Europe on a ship headed for a place called America, they were not imaging that I would ever come along. No one was. (Although we don’t know what exactly the Creator God was thinking.)

As each day passes, we are all one day closer to finding out what’s next. For me death is more evident these days. I keep a list in my journal of family and friends that are now in that next place. It seems that I add another name almost weekly. While I have been gifted with longevity, I also know it could end in a heartbeat. Maybe even later today.

David M. Thomas, PhD