Good Morning TSJ Peeps,
The Boys are having quite the conversation this morning. As you can see, they have taken 
their new perch at the window for a Wednesday morning piece of wisdom. Solomon is doing his best to answer SJ’s never ending questions.
Today SJ is all concerned about why some people are going around with smudges on their foreheads. After all, he has been taught to wash smudges off his face. So he talks to his great…great…great…grandpa about his concerns and confusion.
SJ: “Why is Ms. Margie using ashes as her object lesson for the day?”
Solomon: “Because ashes are not just plain ashes.”
Sj: “What does that mean?”
Solomon: “That means …. well that means….they mean something to her and apparently lots of other people in the Christian religion. It is a meaning that is ascribed or given to ashes, although there is truth in what they represent about life, death, and new life.”
SJ: “Ugh. Too complicated. And kind of …” Solomon interrupts him so as to prevent his saying something unkind. Solomon glances over his shoulder . . .
Just then the dryer buzzer went off and Ms. Margie went to get clothes. Solomon figured she couldn’t hear. So he leaned over to young SJ and said, “To tell you the truth I used to think it was weird myself. I seem to remember though in the echo of my mind … way back when I was head sheep… not yet re-created in Ms. Margie’s mind …. that Mr. Shepherd man (David) often prayed humbly to God and seemed to have a relationship with his God. And he was always recognizing his own mortality and some of the tough things about life that made him need protection and strength from God.”
SJ: “So what does that have to do with ashes and why do you seem to think a smudged forehead is okay?”
As I reenter the room Solomon calls out over his shoulder, “Ms. Margie? Can you tell SJ (and me too) … why are you writing about ashes? I can tell it is important and I think it means that life is short, but is that it?”
So the questioners and I sat quietly for a few minutes and I shared with them what I am obviously going to share with you.
ASCRIBED MEANINGS
Since Mr. Tom has died all kinds of things seem different to me. Like The Bench, some things take on a spiritual/emotional/psychological meaning. And it is the meaning I give it. All “things” (objects of our attention or use) are neutral. Our minds ascribe meaning. Our minds associate personal experience with things – especially if they were part of something either particularly special or awful in our lives.
Things become symbols. So Solomon and SJ … if a sheep could talk, a staff would not just be a long crooked stick.
I saw Solomon shift in his seat and nod. He had been rescued many times by the curved end of David’s staff. That hook had reached under his belly a couple of times when he was near death, and lifted him out of despair and danger. That same staff had also affectionately tapped him as they made their way from one field to the next and Solomon knew he was noticed and valued by the shepherd man.
For me, for the first time in my life, I really and truly feel way down to the core of my being the power of memory. And I ascribe a certain importance to whatever awareness the setting and its objects brought. That makes things like the bench, the path, the hospital bed, the oxygen tank, the path, the birds, the kitchen table, the shirt, the van, the hat etc. objects of love.
Objects are reminders. We give them meaning.
Truthfully, I now understand the import of symbols much better. Traditions (through symbols) help keep us united with the eternal connection we have to the One who makes it all possible and who we are as people related to those who have gone before us.
Ashes. Why ashes though? asks SJ again.
Ashes remind us that the magnificent human being and that all creation comes from dust. Without God our next breath would not be possible. We are mortal beings and it is wise for us to spend time and use symbols to help us remember… much like we remember Mr. Tom. Our bodies are kind of like our temporary ID.
Mr. Tom’s death has made me think about the people that knew and loved Jesus. Although they did not always understand what he was teaching them, they felt a quickening in their hearts when he spoke and a love for him as a man who cared about them. And when he died they were devastated.
Ashes. Why ashes?
Because ashes are dust. . . the beginning of all creation (think star dust) and of life. It is also the end product where there has been much burning.
As we burn with life a simple act of submitting to a smudge of dust gives us pause to remember who we are and Whose we are.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of forty days of renewing our relationship to the Almighty One, the only One who truly turns ashes into beautiful growth both here and beyond.
SJ says, “Oh I kind of get it. The bench is my way of remembering Mr. Tom but Solomon teaches me about the Shepherd and the Shepherd is really who cares for everyone (even animals like me). And for many of you peeps, ashes remind you of your Big Shepherd.”
Solomon is proud of SJ and feels like he “gets it” a bit better too.
Ash Wednesday is not the end. The fire that burns within is greater than the ashes that are part of our mortal frames. And after the ashes? New life slowly emerges even richer than before. That is why land is often burned for new growth. It is all so amazing. And humbling.
The smudge is only symbolic of our heart. No smudge? Inside is where it matters.
Margie and Solomon
