A God who gets in the dust with us
Ash Wednesday 2025
I only recently learned of the Christ of the Abyss sculpture by Guido Galletti submerged into the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Italy. It inspired the song Christ is Lower Still that I’ve linked below, which is how I came across it.1
This sculpture and the song it inspired remind us that Jesus did not come with triumphant exceptionalism or spangly bravado. Jesus reveals to us a power-sharing God who chooses downward descent; to live among the beloved children and heal us from death and teach us to love. This is not an asterisk to the story—this is the deepest identity of God. To whatever extent we crave power and prestige we will not be able to recognize Jesus.
I’m still kind-of new to Ash Wednesday and Lent, but this season invites reflection on our own mortality and on the wide mercy of God. Wherever we find ourselves, God is already there waiting, and his wounds hold all of ours.
God in the Dust Jesus shows us a God who pours out self and status and gets down low— low on the floor with us —gets in the dust with us. Far below the tyrants in their towers with their toys and tanks. Far below the clowns in their castles with their cronies and currencies. Do they understand we can risk on resurrection? With this God—down low— planting new creation in the dust with us.
May your Lent be a season of humility, hope, and healing.
© 2025 Ladye Rachel Howell. All Rights Reserved.
There are actually three versions of this sculpture; in addition to the one off the coast of Italy, there is one in Granada and one off the coast of the US.
Thank you for this post and others you have written. Grateful!