The End of the Christian Life: Lenten Study Companion, Week 3
Author: J. Todd Billings and Kaitlyn DeVries
March 05, 2026
Mortals in Denial: Living as Dying Creatures
“LORD, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn us back to dust,
and say, ‘Turn back, you mortals.’
For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.”
–Psalm 90:1-4
Lent is a fitting time to explore a key theme in chapter 3, that we are children of the Lord — and embodied, mortal creatures of the earth. The Lord is our “dwelling place,” our hope before we took our first breath and the hope of creation after we take our last. We walk this dusty Lenten road before the everlasting Lord, who will be just as glorious and wondrous when our generation has passed. For “from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
God is everlasting and we are mortals, who will return to dust, as the Psalm reminds us. But far from devaluing our mortal flesh, the God of Scripture makes claim upon his people in embodied ways: through the mark of circumcision; laws related to bodily fluids and the temple; the water claiming us in baptism; the bread and cup of our communion with Christ and one another; and, in the most supreme way, God values our mortal flesh through taking it on himself, in Jesus Christ. Indeed, through his fasting in the wilderness, Jesus experienced the weakness of what it means to be deeply hungry, for the body to ache and yearn for nourishment as a sign of our profound dependence upon God. In his resurrection, he renews and exalts the body, bringing it to the right hand of the Father.
God is not distant from our mortal flesh in its vulnerabilities and smallness. Rather, the days we have in this messy, mortal life are a blessing from his hand. Drawing upon the Talmud in the fourth century, observant Jews use a variety of blessings to name God’s gifts in a wide variety of daily creaturely tasks, including using the restroom! After urinating or defecating, washing and drying one’s hands, and stepping out of the bathroom, it is proper for an observant Jew to recite in Hebrew:
Blessed are You, God, our God, sovereign of the universe, who formed humans with wisdom and created within them many openings and many hollows. It is obvious in the presence of your glorious throne that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in your presence. Blessed are You, God, who heals all flesh and performs wonders.1
This prayer is called the Asher yatzar, “[God] has formed humankind.” Remember on this Lenten journey that our life is short and fleeting, and often messy and embarrassing. Yet, God made even these creaturely functions to be good. While we often live in denial of our dusty frame and the fact that we are pooping, peeing, flatulent creatures, it is good and right for us to praise our Lord for his marvelous works. We need not pretend that we float above the creaturely processes that our Creator provides for us in the amazing gift of creaturely life.
Practice:
- Daily: Write out the Asher yatzar, or a similar prayer that you compose, and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Practice saying the prayer after you use the bathroom this week.
- This Week: If you are able, pick one meal this week to forego and spend that time in prayer. As a part of this time, reflect upon Christ’s time of fasting in the wilderness, and the temptations he faced in Matthew 4:1-11. What do you notice about the passage? What does this practice of fasting show you about your bodily existence? Take time to thank the Lord, our creator, provider, and hope, for his daily provision.
Prayer:
Praise God for the gift of your body. Rest in the comfort that God created the intricacies of your mortal body, even the parts you may be embarrassed to mention.
1 AJWS Staff, “Bracha After Going to the Bathroom (Asher Yatzar),” Sefaria, accessed January 9, 2021, https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/1154 65.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en.
Study based on The End of the Christian Life, by J. Todd Billings. Used with permission.
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