A Prayer Before Coming to Church on Ash Wednesday

A Prayer Before Coming to Church on Ash Wednesday

By Rev. Debra McKnight

God of Ash and Dust, God of Spirit and Breath

We pause in the businesses of the day,

we set our lists and ambitions, our egos and striving aside

to remember we are dust.

Dust and ash, the signature of all that is, was and ever shall be.

Dust and ash, the real and present, the everyday.

Dust and ash, everything we forget to be.

We fear, fear remembering we are dust and to dust we shall return.

We fear loosing the look of certainty and permanence,

dust and ash can not measure up to the pressure and pulse of the empires weight.

We, spirit-filled dust, would prefer tougher stuff,

titanium or kryptonite, perhaps,

at least give us some way to preserve or can or jar our life’s work.

But You call us still, spirit-filled dust, part of all that is and ever was, to gather anyway.

To remember we are dust and mortal,

we are ash and finite,

dust and ash impermanence

reminding us to care for each breath and lean into something more.

And so we gather, in this season to remember we are fearfully and wonderful made,

worthy of each breath and caretakers of the love we sew far and wide into the universe.

Grant us the courage, Creator God, to bring our whole hearts and like you,

breathe life into the world with each breath.

May it be so, Amen.