Ashes to Ashes

Seeing how small symbols teach big truths

02/14/2018

2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2 Brothers and sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Sometimes we use small symbols to teach big truths, because, to be entirely honest, the naked truth is too much for us to bear. Jack Nicholson defiantly declared to Tom Cruise in the movie, “A Few Good Men,” that “You cannot handle the truth!” And that is true because many truths are too much for the human mind to grasp, they are beyond human comprehension, and that is why we need small signs to help us in approaching these big realities.

You may be familiar with the playground poem called, “Ring around the Rosy.” But did you know that was originally intended to teach small children how to protect themselves again the Black Plague, or the Black Death? The Black Plague ravaged Europe and Asia in the 14th century, killing twenty to one hundred million people. For example it reduced the population of London by sixty percent. That would be like the population of Fort Smith going from 86,000 to 35,000.

The poem goes like this, as you will remember: “Ring around the rosy, pockets full of poseys, ashes, ashes, they all fall down.” What did that poem originally mean? The “rosy” referred to the rash that caused rosy colored cheeks in those who had just contracted the disease. People carried “poseys” in their pockets because in those days they believed that poseys were like a natural deterrent, an antidote, to the plague. When people died, they usually cremated the bodies – made them “ashes, ashes” – so as to halt the spread of the plague. And the phrase, “they all fall down” was a euphemistic way – a nice way – to describe how many people died, it seemed like “they all had fallen down dead.” Jack Nicholson was right: “You can’t handle the truth” because some truths, like death and highly infectious diseases, scare us too much. We would rather not think about them. But you can still teach people how to handle the truth, at least to start thinking about them, through small things, like poetry and poseys.

The Catholic Church also uses small symbols to teach big truths and we call that the “sacramental system” or the “sacramental economy.” In each sacrament a little sign or symbol points to a tremendous spiritual truth that if we really thought about them our minds would be blown. A little water poured over a baby’s head in baptism makes that human baby a child of God. A morsel of bread and a few drops of wine turn into Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Mass. A small smear of holy oil in the sacrament of Anointing rains down healing and wholeness on the infirm. A small gold ring on a finger speaks volumes of unbreakable love, not only between a man and a woman, but really points to Jesus’ love for us, his Church, his Bride. Small sacramental symbols teach big spiritual truths that are beyond the human mind to comprehend.

The blessed ashes of Ash Wednesday are another one of those small symbols that teach timeless truths. Now, the ashes are a sacramental (like holy water), and not one of the seven sacraments. Therefore, everyone can receive them, Catholics and non-Catholics alike. And the truth it teaches is similar to that playground poem: one day we will all die and return to ashes. That is a truth that not only small children but also big priests find hard to handle. Our mortality can be mind-blowing; it is no exaggeration to say that death is the ultimate “plague.” But Christians also carry around the antidote to that ultimate plague, not poseys in their pockets, but faith in their hearts and the grace of the sacraments in their souls, especially the Holy Eucharist. That is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church calls Holy Communion, “the medicine of immortality, and the antidote for death” (Catechism, 1405). Jesus said: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” (Jn. 6:54).

As you come forward to receive the blessed ashes in a few moments, think about two things. Jack Nicholson said, “You can’t handle the truth!” and he was right about that. But Jesus said: “The truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:32). And he was even more right about that. And that is why we need small sacramental symbols to teach us about big eternal truths.

Praised be Jesus Christ!