Just as dust forms rocks and stones, so too dust is the
building block of life. As we saw in Lent I God took dust and formed man. In
Genesis 2 we hear that “the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
That’s always been a powerful
image for me, and for other authors. James Weldon Johnson, a black poet (1871-1938), likens God to a
‘mammy bending over her baby’ in his poem The
Creation. Weldon’s Creator God says “I’m lonely still” and decides “I’ll
make me a man!” When the figure is formed, God “blew the breath of
life, and man became a living soul.” (read the whole poem)
Edward Hays envisions God as pregnant: "When sunrise came on the sixth day, God greeted it feeling a bit sick. you see, she was pregnant-and early morning is a difficult time for expectant mothers! The delivery, shortly after sunrise, shook all creation with cosmic joy..." (St. George and the Dragon and the Quest for the Holy Grail, Edward Hays, (c) 1986)
In Jesus we find the completion and fulfillment of that
creation. Adam, the first man created of dust and breathed into by God, sinned
with Eve by eating of the forbidden Tree of Life. Jesus in being obedient to
the Cross, reconciles that sin and reunites broken creation with God. Romans
5:19 explains “For just as through the
disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the
obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Later in the
same letter, Paul continues the explanation. “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our
sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a
body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to
sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” (New
Living Translation, Romans 8:3)
The Gospel of John assures us “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we
have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” (John
1:14) In the Letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul says, [Jesus is] “the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the
joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
Over and over this is reiterated in the earliest writings
of the church-the Epistles (letters) to the early churches. To the Galatians,
Paul writes, “But when the set time had
fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law so that He
might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive adoption…”
(Galatians 4:4-5) Paul tells the church at Philippi, “being found in appearance as a man, [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming
obedient to death-- even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8)
During Lent we are conscious of the end of the journey we
are on with our Lord. The journey ends at the Cross…or perhaps that is the
beginning. Jesus tells his disciples, “Whoever
wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow
me.” (Matthew 16:24)
We are promised a cross. In Matthew Henry’s Concise
Commentary on Matthew 16:24 we learn it is the mark of real discipleship. He
states, “A true disciple of Christ is one
that does follow him in duty, and shall follow him to glory. He is one that
walks in the same way Christ walked in, is led by his Spirit, and treads in his
steps, whithersoever he goes. Let him deny himself. If self-denial be a hard
lesson, it is no more than what our Master learned and practiced, to redeem us,
and to teach us. Let him take up his cross…If any man will have the name and
credit of a disciple, let him follow Christ in the work and duty of a disciple.”
This
week
- Meditate the image of God bending over you, His creation, and breathing life in (or giving birth to Adam as Edward Hays imagines) OR
- Lent in a Bag notes, “Because Jesus was, as we confess, fully human, he gets us, understands us from inside our skin, and knows from experience that we’re each capable of great things, Godly things. And no matter what we do, he keeps on inviting us to join us in his work which has become our own.” Consider the question ‘What might you plan to do [during Lent] so that the Easter you will more closely reflect you and the Christ who lives in and through you?’ OR
- Think about your cross and how it helps you walk in Jesus’ footsteps as His disciple.
Next week we’ll look ‘light’ in the darkness of Lent.
