Dust & Breath: Lent in the Great Biblical Story

Catholics swarm to their local parish on a particular day every year to renew the annual tradition of getting ashes smeared on their heads and hearing the words, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return”. More than a cult-esque kickoff party to a 40-day self-improvement challenge, these Ash Wednesday words are actually an invitation to… death. By weaving through the intricately woven tapestry of the bible, we find the season of Lent in the Garden of Eden, in the flood and the desert, in the Sermon on the Mount, and the Mount of Calvary. Reading the story of salvation from a new lens, we see how Lent is an invitation to our own death and resurrection, in a return to the simple dust and breath of creation.