Ash Wednesday. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Ash Wednesday is one of the most demanding days of the year for a pastor -- and I didn't get enough sleep last night. I woke up early because my head was so congested. It's either the third cold I've caught this season, or the same one that's never gone away. I've had a lingering cough for weeks. It could be, after my illness, that my respiratory system will be my body's weakest point, and that I'll be susceptible to catching colds. (Or, could it all be coincidence?)

I'm prepared for Ash Wednesday. My sermon is written. Michael and I have planned the service. But Ash Wednesday is so early this year that I still don't really believe it's here! I will go to the noontime service at St. Martin's Episcopal, to receive my ashes and the sacrament and the Word -- (To be on the receiving end in a worship service! What a treat for a pastor!) -- and the Spirit will impress me with the reality of this day.

The bike club newsletter arrived yesterday, including the much-anticipated mileage figures of the various riders who care to boast about their obssession. My total for 2007 was 2,572 miles. That placed me 17th among club members. I'm proud of my total (even more so than two years ago, when I was up over 3,000 miles and higher in the club ranking) because, of course, I was unable to ride at all in January, and most of December was so cold that I thought it prudent to stay inside and to use my indoor peddling machine.

Strength! Vigor! I returned to work on February 1 a year ago. My illness and recovery is no longer a frequent topic of conversation. But yesterday, at the monthly local Lutheran pastor's meeting, a colleague told me, "I prayed for you a lot when you were sick, but I have to tell you I didn't expect to be sitting next to you someday at a meeting." It reminded me of the time one of the doctors in our congregation told me that there was a day when my numbers looked so bad that she thought that was the day I was going to die. What strength, what vigor God has given me in my recovery!

But still. "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." That is the reminder of Ash Wednesday. And it is a reminder of grace. Why? Because I'm only a temporary worker in the kingdom, and so I don't have to burden myself with worry over "success." The work belongs to God. God is the one who continues. And even on Ash Wednesday we are Easter people: we know that our life in God continues, even after we return to dust.