Genesis 2:4b-7
In the day that God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground, but a stream would rise form the earth, and water the whole face of the ground-then the Lord God formed a human from the dust of the ground, and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life; and the human became a living being.
“Of Dust and Breath”
On TV it’s always raining at the cemetery.
The family huddles together,
faces obscured by umbrellas.
The preacher intones the dreaded words,
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
The camera zooms in to catch tears
streaming down a child’s face.
I don’t like to say those words.
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
I’d rather leave out that part of the truth.
I’d rather proclaim eternal life,
pretend nothing has changed.
I’d like to find words to help us forget what we know too well-
someday we too will be lowered into the ground,
scattered on the earth.
“Ashes to ashes; dust to dust.”
These words are too stark,
too real.
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I don’t like to say those words.
They are too real.
We are so small-
grains of sand in the desert.
Our power is so limited-
plans blown about by the wind,
souls grasping for the assurance that we matter.
Our lives are so short-
bodies aging just as we figure out how to live,
hearts broken by loss.
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I don’t like to say those words.
Since I cannot escape them, I will say them.
I will claim them.
We are made of dust and return to dust–
we are part of the earth,
we nourish life.
We are dust,
dust made holy by the breath of God.
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We are so small,
and we matter so much.
Every hair on our head is numbered.
Every prayer we utter is held with tenderness.
Our power is so limited,
and a single act ripples out to change the world.
We can choose compassion;
we can choose hope.
Our lives are so short,
and there is time enough for love.
Every moment is a gift.
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We are small,
and so we need each other.
Our power is limited,
And so we must work together,
Our lives are short,
And so we must pass on our dreams.
And so we are blessed with community.
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To be made of dust and the breath of God-
that is blessing.
To claim our holy earthliness-
that is grace.
-Rev Debbie Clark