Dust and Dirt and Dung

Life in this sin-broken world is not always pretty. Dirt gets in our eyes, under our fingernails and behind our ears. Dust settles on every surface and collects in our lungs. Germs and bugs and viruses attack our immune system. Our muscles ache and stomachs vomit. Bread moulds and meat rots. Mice live in our walls and cockroaches in our cupboards. 

It’s a world of dust and dirt and dung. And it is the world that Jesus, the Perfect and Holy One, entered into in his incarnation. Without a doubt, his greatest suffering occurred on the cross, bearing the full weight of the sins of the world. No earthly suffering could compare. But it is worth meditating on the suffering Jesus endured as a result of being human in a world of dirt and hurt. 

Jesus knew the feeling of a parched throat and a grumbling stomach. He had to brush his teeth, clip his toenails, and scrub the dirt from his skin. He sweated in the heat of the noonday sun and shivered during the cold nights. He walked for miles on the dusty paths of Galilee and at the end of the day took off his sandals to wash his bruised feet. 

Not only did Jesus deal with the humanness of his own body, but in his ministry he entered into the dirt and hurt of others. He touched the shrivelled-up hand of the man in a synagogue and the pale, patchy skin of the leper. He witnessed the filthy, naked body of the demon-possessed man and the limp bodies of the disabled gathered around the Bethesda pool. He heard the screams of demons and the death-wails of mourners. He smelt the sweaty bodies of the crowds that pressed in around him, and the stench of human decay at the mouth of Lazarus’ tomb. 

It was necessary for Jesus to enter into the dirt and hurt of our world in order to save us. He did so willinging, filled with compassion, and driven by the future joy of seeing rebels redeemed. 

Jesus brought good news to a bad world and he didn’t announce it from a rooftop nor a soapbox. Jesus didn’t get carried around on a padded chair with a servant fanning his face and another nearby to keep his purple robes from dragging in the mud. Jesus didn’t avoid the dirt, nor the dust or dung or all the other ugly parts of being human. He entered into it in order to save us from it. 

So, Jesus sets the pattern of ministry for us. Do we really think we can serve the lost and the least without entering into their dirt and hurt? Do we think preaching from a  safe distance is all that is required? If we are disciples of Jesus and attentive to his life and teaching we will know the answer is no. We will think upon the words of Philippians 2:7 -“but made himself nothing, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” – and we will aim to have that same mindset. 

If we commit to bringing the good news to a bad world, we will have to enter into the ugly parts. We will get lice in our hair and dust on our shoes. We will shake dirty hands, and eat questionable food. We will scrub urine from the church floor and sweep the sidewalk free of garbage for the umpteenth time. 

That is not to say we will always do it willingly and cheerfully, as Jesus did. Our natural reaction will be to not shake the dirty hand and to keep our distance from the man who smells like urine. When that happens we realize how much greater Jesus loved us and how far we have to go in our discipleship of Him. We realize that we too must learn to enter into the dirt and dust and dung of our sin-broken world, and we must do it in the joy of serving our Lord and Saviour.