I recently read that the three biggest days in terms of church attendance for Catholics are Easter, Christmas, and… you guessed it, Ash Wednesday. Now Christmas and Easter I understand. They are joyful. We celebrate them. Families and friends gather together for them. And we believe that they mark two of the most significant events in history: the entrance of God into humanity and then the triumphant Resurrection of that God. I get it.

But Ash Wednesday? Why so popular? For the little black smudges smeared across our foreheads? Seriously?

During the placement of ashes, which will happen in just a few minutes, we recite this line: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” That seems pretty grim and is not exactly joyful. No one gathers together to celebrate this day. Have you ever been invited to an Ash Wednesday party? Do you go out and buy a new outfit for Ash Wednesday? I doubt it.

I wonder… if there something about remembering that we are dust that resonates for us? Is there something about it that resonates for you?

I’ve been thinking and praying about this.

Maybe it’s because we haven’t secularized Ash Wednesday the way we have Christmas and Easter. There’s no Hallmark Channel dedicated to showing Ash Wednesday movies and we don’t wake up on Ash Wednesday morning with a house filled with gifts or candy.

Or maybe it’s because it’s one of the only ways we can show who we are and what we believe in and the black marks on our foreheads are a form of solidarity and belonging of sorts.

Or maybe, just maybe, deep down… we actually appreciate the reminder that everything we pack on, gather, achieve, covet, and fret over… in the end, in the very end, will all amount to little more than… dust. Maybe that’s a message that we like to be reminded of because we know that we need to hear it.

I have a friend who is one of the most accomplished people I know. He was a professor at a prestigious college and during his long career, he contributed a tremendous amount to his academic field, both nationally and internationally. He was good at what he did and all during his life, he received lots of pats on his back that continuously reminded him of that very fact.

He retired a few years ago and I saw him recently. I asked him how retirement was going and he said this: “I just went back to the school a few days ago and was surprised by how many new people work there. They had no idea who I was. And of the people who did know me, it was clear that they are all doing just fine without me there. It was all just a good reminder to me that we never quite as important as we think we are.”

This really hit me… made me think.

And then he went on to say: “In the very end, we’re left just standing there in front of God without anything other than ourselves. It’s like we’re completely alone and nothing from our lives will be there with us… other than love and the good things we done.”

It’s a great message. So great that I immediately wrote it down after he said it. And… it strikes me as a very Ash Wednesday message. One I think maybe I needed to hear and think about.

In the end, it’s just dust.

It’s all just dust…

… except for that part of us that endures. That part that is about the love and goodness we created. That part that Jesus came here to suffer and sacrifice for because he thought we were worth it.

It is a good message. An important one. And one worth thinking about.

I think that’s a pretty good reason for us to be here today.