I realize my posts have leaned heavily towards the poetic, over the past several days in particular. Yes, it is National Poetry Month, but that’s not the reason. Part of the reason is it’s easily eleven-thirty before I even begin to write at night and I am finding it increasingly challenging to stay up long enough for a thousand coherent words to show up. Part of it is I’m being fed by reading and writing poetry these days. So here, in the dregs of my day, is tonight’s offering.
holy week
is slipping by
while I’m at work
(so are a lot of things)
and I wonder how it felt
the first time around
looking for donkeys
and upper rooms
holy errands, yes but
still things to do
by the time they sat
down for dinner
thursday evening
I wonder how much
they spent talking shop
until Jesus took the bread
and broke the whole
thing wide openor perhaps it’s just
what I hope will
happen to me
Peace,
Milton
Beautiful. Thank you. As someone who’s an associate at a brand-new church, I’ve been doing a lot of “holy errands” these last weeks. I, too, long for the whole thing to be broken wide open.
Your “dregs” are a gift; thank you for sharing them.
As someone who works for the church, this hit me in the gut. Even in Holy Week, we spend too much time “talking shop” and I worry that I will not be attentive enough to what is really happening. My prayer is that we are all ready to be transformed and lifted beyond our “holy errands” into the astonishing reality of Christ’s presence among us. Thank you for helping us to pay attention.
This one makes me cry. What we all hope for. Thanks, Milton.
Maureen from Minnesota
Linda and I read all of John chapters 18 and 19 last night in Spanish and in English. It felt like a big mistake– my back was aching and my tongue felt numb from twisting itself around two chapters of Cervantes’ spanish. I walked straight out into the evening air, silent as we were bid to do, and found Juana weeping. She grabbed me and hugged me tightly. “That was beautiful,” she said. “That was wonderful.” I’m sure I didn’t get what it was like the first time around, but she did, and that was enough last night . . .”