Matins Devotion: December 20, 2024
There’s a church in Portugal called “Capela dos Ossos,” “Chapel of the Bones” in English. This is a very literal name. It’s a little chapel built by Franciscan friars made almost entirely out of human bones, in particular skulls. Now, on the one hand, I love this. It’s about as stark of a reminder of our mortality as you can get, a reminder that all flesh is grass, that we are dust and to dust we shall return, as we often say on Ash Wednesday. Good luck sitting through a service there without really having to deal with the seriousness of your sin.
But on the other hand, it’s also not the kind of church I’d like to reconstruct if we were to do some sanctuary renovations here. Not simply because it’s way over the top for every Sunday, but also because, as I like to say in pretty much every Ash Wednesday sermon, “dust you are and to dust you shall return, but dust you shall not remain.”
When the Psalmist cries out in anguish this morning, he states, “my soul clings to the dust, give me life according to your word.” And this is the state of man. Without the word of God, though living and breathing, though moving and jumping and singing and dancing, we are simply dust. Our souls are driven into the dust from which we came, the dust that will claim us again. Without God’s word, nothing can save you from spending eternity as worthless dust, scattered by the wind. You are nothing but bones to be crushed into powder underneath the weight of your sin.
But with His word, God has given you life. With His word, God has shown you Christ, the one who killed your sins at Calvary and conquered death with His resurrection. With his word, God has shown you Christ, the one who has lifted your soul up from the dust and welcomed you into an eternal life where your glorified flesh will live with Him forever.
So probably don’t decorate the church with your bones after you die. But if some wild-eyed monks do it for you, let your bones stay in the sanctuary. It will serve as a wonderful visual reminder of everything Christ has conquered. Rejoice to leave your bones in that church knowing that Christ will one day reassemble them, just as He will reach into the dust and knit your glorified skin back upon those bones. Dust you are. But dust you shall not remain.
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