Dean’s Musings . . . “Ashes . . .”

The nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie” has some interesting lines in it.  They read like this:

Ring around the rosey,
A pocketful of posies.
ashes, ashes.
We all fall down.

“Many have associated the poem with the Great Plague of London in 1665, or with earlier outbreaks of bubonic plague in England. Interpreters of the rhyme before World War II make no mention of this;  by 1951, however, it seems to have become well established as an explanation for the form of the rhyme that had become standard in the United Kingdom. Peter and Iona Opie remark: “The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, posies of herbs were carried as protection, sneezing was a final fatal symptom , and ‘all fall down’ was exactly what happened.”  The line Ashes, Ashes in alternative versions of the rhyme is claimed to refer variously to cremation of the bodies, the burning of victims’ houses, or blackening of their skin, and the theory has been adapted to be applied to other versions of the rhyme, or other plagues.   In its various forms, the interpretation has entered into popular culture and has been used elsewhere to make oblique reference to the plague.” [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, “Ring a Ring o’ Roses”]

   No matter what its origin, the idea of using ashes cannot be positive.  Ashes are what remain after something—or someone—is burned.  It symbolizes the return of something complex back into its basic state.  It is part of the traditional committal service at the graveside.  “. . . we therefore commit his/her body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust . . .”

   The purpose of Ash Wednesday is to bring home the reality of our mortality.  We live in a culture that wants to deny death (the goal of funeral preparation is to make the person look life-like).  We glorify youth and staying young.  This is not, however reality; for, all will die.  The sooner we confront this fact, the sooner we can be comforted by the love of Jesus Christ that will restore our life through our resurrection.  Jesus said this, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” [John 14:27] 

   In the midst of our mortality, we do not need to be afraid.