The Rubbish Ritual

Daily Byte

Growing up, we had a dreaded tradition in my household called, “the annual washing of the rubbish bins.” One Saturday morning in late spring, my mom would announce at the breakfast table that today was the day - my brother and I would have to wash all the rubbish bins in the house.

Over the years, my brother and I developed an elaborate system - ritual, you might even call it - to perform this task. First we collected all of the rubbish bins, emptied them, and took them out to the driveway to spray them with the hose. We must have had about ten or fifteen rubbish bins in the house, of all different shapes and sizes and colours.

Now my brother and I never worked well together, and cooperation with a hose was out of question. So we always split up the bins; I washed half and he washed half. We took turns selecting our rubbish bins, like picking players for a team in gym class! The dirtier bins, like the crusty, kitchen bin, were always left for last.

Now it wasn’t enough just to spray off the rubbish bins with the hose; these bins needed scrubbing! And so we’d pour dish soap into a trashcan and fill it up with the hose. Then, my mother would bring out toilet brushes, and we would actually scrub the inside and the outside of every bin with a toilet brush! We would pour the soapy water from one rubbish bin into the next, scrub it, and turn it over to dry.

When all the bins had been washed, we spread them out up-side down all over driveway and wait for this rainbow of rubbish bins sparkling in the sun, to dry. It was quite a sight to see!

My brother and I secretly enjoyed this tradition when we were younger. But as we grew older, we became embarrassed when the neighbours walked by and saw us scrubbing rubbish bins in the driveway. We began to question – “what exactly is the point of washing a rubbish bin that you’re just going to refill with rubbish?” But my mother insisted that the rubbish bins needed to be washed. And when we pulled the bins out into the sun, where all the dirt and smells were exposed, we could usually see that my mother was right.

Sometimes we tend to think that there are certain corners of our lives that don’t need cleansing or healing, or even to be brought out into the light. We would rather keep these dark parts of our past to ourselves; we would rather let them smoulder inside of us. The thought of bringing dark parts of our lives out into the light might seem painful, embarrassing, or even pointless. But Christ comes to cleanse and heal every part of our lives - every broken corner of our heart, every sinful thought, every disappointment or hint of despair. All of these stand in need of God’s gracious cleansing and pardon.

In church, we actually do something similar to the ritual of rubbish bin washing - we participate in the ritual confession. As a community, we confess our sins to God - we bring to light the fact that we are broken creatures. And then we ask God for forgiveness and healing. This is a beautiful ritual, by which even the darkest parts of our lives can be made clean again.

Prayer

Gracious God,
You wash away the filth, the stain, and the oldness deep within us. You wash us until we are clean, and you grant us solace until we are whole. We bring before you our secrets, our dark corners, our brokenness, and our pain. Cleanse us and restore us to beauty. We trust that we are beautiful in the light of your love. Thank you for always walking with us on our journey toward newness and wholeness. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Focus Reading

Psalm 51:1-2, 6-8

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.