Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 334

By the sweat of your face
        shall you get bread to eat,
    Until you return to the ground,
        from which you were taken;
    For you are dirt,
        and to dirt you shall return.”

 

Those who distribute ashes on Ash Wednesday may choose one of two statements – or “proclamations” – as they rub ashes on foreheads. They can say, “Turn away from sin and live by the gospel.” or, “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

This latter statement is an obvious reference to the familiar story of Adam and Eve. It has a sad ring of truth and was the only text until the recent reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  The ashes are a powerful reminder of our mortality. No one lives forever. If the church is full today, some of this congregation might be dead by this time next year.

Right now, the daily news of pandemic also reminds us of our mortality. We are greeting one another with reassurances of our good health and urging one another to “Be Safe!” The danger is real; death is near at hand.

As I read this passage of Genesis on this Saturday of Ordinary Time, I hear a different tone, a less inspiring expression. In that moment, God seems to turn away from them in disgust: “What was I thinking? What did I expect? They’re just dirt, the slime of the earth. That’s all they’ll ever be.”

Certainly, there are times when we feel that way about one another. Saddened parents, brokenhearted lovers, frustrated teachers, disenchanted converts, bankrupt employers, betrayed rulers: the roster of disappointment is endless. We expected so much; our dreams were so wonderful! How could we be so wrong?

In the next paragraph the Lord apparently relents and shows pity for the couple who are ridiculously clothed in fig leaf loincloths. He gives them leather garments to wear. In today’s gospel, we also hear of Jesus’s pity for the crowds who follow him:

My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
because they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
If I send them away hungry to their homes,
they will collapse on the way,
and some of them have come a great distance.”

Despite our sometimes-heroic efforts, amazing skills, and stellar aspirations, human beings are often pathetic. We may enjoy a few years of competent strength, ability, and energy as adults, but we were all helpless children at one time, and we’re destined for years of decline. Add our sinful inclinations which destroy everything they touch, and you’ll wonder why God made us in the first place.

“For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.” Romans 11:32

But we shall yet be amazed! Our salvation, which we receive because the Lord shows pity, is infinitely better than anything we can imagine, expect, or deserve. As we embrace our helpless condition our pathos makes us ready for That Day.