Ashes, Dust, and Dirt

Ash Wednesday marks the start of a journey toward the cross, a season of reflection on human frailty and sin’s consequences. As churchgoers are marked on their foreheads with a cross made from ashes, they hear a solemn reminder: “From dust you came, and to dust you shall return.” This symbol of ashes evokes humility, mortality, and the weight of sin. Within the Passion narrative, the elements— ashes, dust, dirt — carry profound meaning as part of Christ’s crucifixion, where He bore our sins and absorbed the curse upon creation.

As I reflected on Ash Wednesday, a question arose: Were ashes present in the Passion of Christ? John’s Gospel, alone among the Gospels, provides the answer: when they came to arrest Jesus, the mob carried torches. What a terrifying sight it must have been — flames piercing the darkness, a throng of bloodlust men coming to seize Jesus. Those flames lit the path to His unjust arrest and ultimate sacrifice.

The Curse from Genesis to Golgotha

From the very beginning, dirt and humanity were intimately connected. Adam—a name meaning “earth” or “dirt”—was formed from the soil, a creature crafted from creation’s lowest matter. The Scriptures reveal that dust and ashes, in addition to being tied to human origin, are also tied to human failure. When Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, rebelled against God’s Law, God cursed even this ground on account of their disobedience, introducing toil, thorns, and suffering into their existence. God pronounced to Adam:

Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.
(Genesis 3:17-19)

Indeed, in humanity’s Genesis, Abraham, father of our faith, once confessed before God, “I am but dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). Dust reminds us of our frailty and dependence on God. In contrast, ashes point to repentance and mourning—a sorrow for our brokenness and a plea for mercy.

Meditating on Christ’s Passion, I noticed that dust and dirt are woven into each step of Jesus’ path to the cross. Every Station of the Cross took place on the soil of our fallen world, a world corrupted by sin. After dying, Jesus’ body was laid in a tomb—a final return to the ground, fulfilling the words in Matthew 12:40: “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Christ’s burial in the earth demonstrates more than His death; it signifies His solidarity with a cursed creation.

Redemption through Christ’s Death and Resurrection

On the cross, the curse against creation begins to be reversed. Jesus bears not only the penalty of our sin but also the curse against creation itself. The dirt—the cursed ground to which we are all bound in mortality—is, through Christ, brought into the promise of redemption. His promise of resurrection placates our curse of death that returns our bodies to the earth. Just as Jesus was buried in the ground and raised, so will those in Christ be brought into a new life, restored as a new creation.

Living as Redeemed Dirt

The ultimate end of sin’s curse is fire, the destructive judgment upon all things. (2 Peter 3:10-12) However, those in Christ have the hope of eternal life—a place in God’s new heavens and earth, free from the ravages of sin. (2 Peter 3:13) On Ash Wednesday, we remember that we are dust and ashes and that through Christ, we are called into a partnership in His redemptive mission. We are dust, yes, but redeemed dust—co-workers with Christ in the restoration of creation. (1 Corinthians 3:9)

Remember your humble origins and high calling as we walk from Ash Wednesday to Easter. You are from dirt, but in Christ, you are redeemed. You are dust, but in Him, you are given eternal life. With each step, may you repent of your sins, cling to His cross, and live as a partner in His healing of this world. In Christ, even dirt has a future of glory.

Book Publication Update

I have completed writing and editing a new book, Elements of the Passion: God’s Plan from Eden to Eternity. “Ashes, Dust, and Dirt” that you just read is a sample from this book. Each chapter looks at one element found in Christ’s Passion (His suffering). There was metal, hyssop, clothes, blood and water, wood, thorns, darkness, and etc. Each of these elements is traced from Genesis to the Passion to Revelation, hence the subtitle, “God’s Plan from Eden to Eternity.” The thread of all these elements running though Scripture accross millenia of writers to the cross and into Revelation cannot be the product of human conspiracy or literary happen chance. Instead, it serves as a testimony God’s sovereignty and an overwhelming demonstration of His love. The details of the Passion were not haphazard; they were intentional, written into creation itself. Every step, every element, every moment was crafted by the Father’s hand to bring salvation to His people. The Passion was planned in love, carried out in love, and completed in love.

The cross was never Plan B. It was always the plan. From the beginning, God knew what it would take to redeem us and was willing to pay the price. The Passion of Christ is not just the most remarkable story ever told — it is the true story upon which all others rest.

And it is the story that saves us from ourselves.

I still have formatting for print and cover design to work on before getting the book setup with the printers. I hope to have it available by April, in time for you to read as Lent closes and the Holy Week begins. This book is about 50 pages long and can be read in one sitting, or meditated on throughout Lent, or just during Holy Week. I hope it will be of such impact that you’ll want to read it every year in preparation for Easter.

I do want one special endorsement for the back cover. Please, pray that the individual will appreciate the work and write an endorsement.

Peace in Christ,
Pastor Andy Wrasman
Oak Road Lutheran Church, Lilburn, GA