Ash Wednesday

This is the first of our Daily Lenten Meditations. They will include a variety of media from poetry, to translations of psalms, to reflections on psalms and other scripture, to audio and video clips and art. Please feel free to share your own reflections and meditations, your own thoughts and prayers with your community, in the section below for comments. 

Fine Particulate Matter
by Ron Cebik

I am made of stuff,
Fine particulate matter,
Or so I was told
By the somber minister
As she made a mark
Drawing a cross on my brow 
With black soot and grease 
Made holy by some bishop 
Unaware of death
Having left its dark icon 
Beneath the surface
Indelibly on the soul
Immune to dogmas
Meant to calm the anxious heart
Beating to order
Warriors that take up arms 
Against the assaults
Fearful institutions wage
Lest the free walk out
Into the daylight of truth
That offers nothing, 
Demanding everything 
Excepting the soul,
Yours to keep until the day
It is given up
In the blowing winds of change, 
Breaking forever
The mold you made to hold
The pearl of great price,
Fine particulate matter, 
Dancing in the wind, 
Grounded in sacred memories 
Balancing our lives
On the edge of not knowing 
And uncertain faith,
We seek our unique meaning 
In the swirling dust
Shifting shapes before our eyes 
Preventing contact
With anything substantial
To affirm the truth
We are more than what we seem,
Thus again we kneel
Receiving the timeless sign
Only others see
Hidden from our line of sight,
Blessed denial
Of how fragile the life we hold
Together in hope,
The time will never arrive
When the black thumb leafs
Through the prayer book searching
The proper collect
To signify it is now,
The journey begins
To the edge of what lies beyond
Imagination.

Ron Cebik is a retired minister. 
You can read more by Ron Cebik on his blog at:
http://roncebik.wordpress.com

A Few Things to Ponder

What word or words in this poem resonate with you at this start of the season of Lent?

What in your life at this time might affirm the truth that we are more than what we seem?

What are some sacred memories that are grounding your life in this season of Lent?

If you were to write a collect to signify the beginning of this Lenten journey to the edge of what lies beyond imagination, what would it say?