Rev. Chism's Weekly Message

"By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." - Genesis 3:19

Dusting the house is not one of my favorite past times. In the past, I have purchased air purifiers to do the job. Late last year, Christina purchased us a new purifier and it excited me because of the potential of less dusting. After a few weeks I shared with Christina that it was working great! You are my friend, air purifier!

At the same time as I shared my glee, she asked me to check it to see how much dust was on the filter inside. So, I opened it to check and found the filter was still wrapped in plastic. You see, I took it out of the box and plugged it in without considering this needed to be done. It is no secret that I'm a periodic idiot living in the grace of God.

There is a saying that I use, if I can remember it, when imposing ashes on all your foreheads on Ash Wednesday. It goes, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." You can find this saying or variants of it in the Old Testament. It is a reminder of things like repentance and that we will not live forever. Seeing these are things we do not like to talk about, why would put dust enhanced with olive or vegetable oil on our foreheads?

Lent is here and it is time to pick up the cross and follow Jesus to Jerusalem. Whenever Jesus talked about this, the Disciples were like, "What the heck is the Lord talking about?" Jesus is the Messiah and the Messiah doesn't go to no cross!

It would have been easier for Jesus to stay in miracle-mode and build upon His rock star status. It would have been easier to teach the Disciples and live on. It would have been easier to go around preaching and preaching and not go to the cross. It would have been easier just to live a long life and return to dust like every other person. It would have been easier to lean upon His divine-side and just rule over Israel like King David.

Jesus didn't take the easy route. It was time to take the plastic off the filter.

You see, we are more than dust. Yeah, after our life is finished here, our bodies will return to dust. Our souls will not however. Following Jesus is sanctifying grace. It purifies the soul. And sometimes the soul gets a little dusty. It needs a little cleaning.

Last night I did some dusting upstairs in the parsonage. Although it wasn't a complete disaster, it was nice for everything to be very clean and in order. As you all know, unless I keep it tidy it could become a complete mess. A little dusting now prevents a lot of dusting later.

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The writer also says in 1 John 3:3, "And all who have this hope in him purify themselves even as he is pure." James 4:8 reminds us that we are to draw near to God because it will “purify your hearts.”

Matthew 16:24-25 says, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. All who want to save their lives will lose them. But all who lose their lives because of me will find them.”

Let us journey with Jesus this Lenten Season. Let the dusting begin. Turn the air purifier on. Time to clean up the soul. To do so, pick up the cross and follow.

Stay Safe,

Rev. Baxter