By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 3:19
Everything is different. It’s not new for me to anticipate Holy Week with healthy Lenten doses of reflection, reverence, and repentance, so what’s so new for me in this 2022 Christian season of old? This year I received ashes on the steps of St. Bart’s. This was my very first year to receive ashes, ever. Lent 2022 follows my dad’s death last September. Standing in this liminal space — ashes to ashes — holds new meaning for me and has me looking at life through new lenses of loss, legacy, and love.
Since losing Dad, I visit the valley of my childhood often, longing to feel his presence. Through the dark, cold days of winter, it was the sunsets that brought us closer. As Spring arrives, it is the small green shoots of wheat, springing to life after a dormant winter season. Dad spent his lifetime caring for creation in this valley, following in the footsteps of generations before him, including the Lenape Native Americans who were forced off that very land by European settlers. From early on, Dad understood the legacy he received and took bold actions to honor, preserve, and protect it. He took literally the words of a favorite from the Methodist hymnal of his youth, "This is My Father's World" by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, published posthumously in 1901.
Dad gave his family and community a rich gift of his life, his individual legacy. He did it so gracefully that I didn't even realize its themes and content until I stood by his grave, tossing grain upon his casket. In western culture, the word legacy is most often associated with family property that is handed down for generations. Legacy is also defined by having had a family member attend a university before you. As our world wrestles with the realities of legacies steeped in privilege, deeds of our ancestors, and invisible knapsacks, the word legacy has entered a new day of important investigation and renewal.
What is legacy in the Christian context? For this, as a people of faith, we can look to the example of Jesus. "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. " (1 Peter 2:21) Standing on the steps of St. Bart's having ash rubbed on my face spoke again to legacy - this time my own. Friends, what is the legacy you are writing? What is the legacy we are collectively writing as the church of St. Bartholomew's in the City of New York?
Holy One, we are grateful for your grace and patience, and for the example of your Son, Jesus Christ. For your persistence in pursuing us with your everlasting love, today and always, we give you thanks. Amen.
