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| Image by Alex Wiebe |
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A GREETING
It’s enough for me to keep my soul tranquil
and quiet like a child in its mother’s arms;
my soul is as content as a nursing child.
(Psalm 131:2 TIB)
A READING
So the disciples went off and did what Jesus had ordered. They brought the donkey and her colt, and after they laid their cloaks on the animals, Jesus mounted and rode toward the city. Great crowds of people spread their cloaks on the road, while some began to cut branches from the trees and lay them along the path.
(Matthew 21:6-8 TIB)
MEDITATIVE MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
As Jesus entered Jerusalem,
the whole city was stirred to its depths, demanding, “Who is this?”
(Matthew 21:10 TIB)
A POEM
Don’t laugh when I confess every cobalt
coloured little lake along the Trans-Canada
is flooding where I cried for you, hungry
tires eating the pavement from Winnipeg
to Couchiching and Shabbaqua, my body
hurtling through spruce scented air toward
polluted Ontario, my spirit reaching long
arms back across the miles to open prairie,
deer among the aspen of La Barriere Forest,
singers around a fire, your filmmaker’s eye,
your poet’s tongue, your quicksilver
philosopher’s mind, quivering skin, naked
heart, how do you know if you’re crazy,
these commuter lives, from exhausting
winters in dirty cities to snatched moments
in paradise, being with you, sunflower
mosquito dragonfly grasshopper ice in
the lungs wish it could last happiness
- "From Heart," by Di Brandt
VERSE OF THE DAY
After leaving them, he went out to Bethany to spend the night.
(Matthew 21:17 TIB)
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| Image by Alex Wiebe |
Lake Winnipeg marks a shift: while our other watery explorations of the last two weeks have drained ultimately through the Great Lakes into the St. Lawrence and on to the Atlantic, Lake Winnipeg drains northward, toward Hudson Bay. This is the direction we go now, as we journey back to the Arctic. The Grass River is a Northern Manitoba river known for its turbulent currents, fast rapids and sudden twists and turns. It drains into the Nelson River, the major artery connecting Lake Winnipeg with Hudson Bay and beyond.
Like the Grass River, Holy Week is a time of turbulent twists and turns and strong contrasts. The friends gathered around Jesus will come and go from Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, only a few miles from the Mount of Olives. We can imagine them assembled there after the dinner with the nard. Perhaps there had been a plan to stay there for the Passover despite the increasing uncertainty. We can see them as the dawn is breaking, gathering in quiet clusters, trying to decide what to do. Mary Magdalene, Peter, John, James and Andrew, Junia, Joanna and the other women and disciples. Perhaps the mother of Jesus is among them, and Joseph. Perhaps the twelve are strategizing the best way to enter, how to protect him. Inevitably it will be Jesus himself who sets the course of events. As he mounts the colt, the others gather quickly. Slowly, they start out on the road, away from Bethany.
These quiet, shuffling moments in the pre-dawn light, will meet their end in the chaos of the East Gate. Coming around the Mount of Olives, there are already crowds of hands waving palms. There are the hands of those in the crowd who want to touch Jesus’ body as he passes. There are the hands of those who are suspicious, standing at a distance, pointing. And there are the trembling hands of the friend who had brought the colt as instructed, now leading Jesus by the reins.
In the Matthew version of the story, the first cloaks to be laid are those of the disciples, across the donkey before Jesus climbs on. The second mention of cloaks refers to those of the crowd who lay them on the ground. Although the text doesn't mention feet, the narrative draws our attention there. Once again, a ritual involving feet is named -- as royal feet are never allowed to touch ground. From the nard to the cloaks, Jesus' significance is swiftly changing and we are watching where those feet go. At the end of a long day, we are told that Jesus returns to Bethany for the night. Back with his friends, away from the turmoil, perhaps he steps out for a moment to look into the sky where the crowd sounds have vanished into quiet night air. What is he thinking?
The emotions of Holy Week are both turbulent and also marked by meditative silence, all of which has a focus: Jesus. Although her poem is not religious, Di Brandt's "From Heart" offers a poignant snapshot of what it means to love someone so deeply that they become part of the landscape. Pain, fear, anxiety, confusion, broken bread and wine, walks in the garden, prayer as others sleep -- these are all ahead of us in the landscape of Holy Week. How can we honour all of these as we make the journey? How will we be present to Jesus, as we walk with him?
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A STORY OF A RIVER
The Grass River is one of the most untouched wildernesses in all of Manitoba, that is also still accessible in some places to humans. Its journey is mapped in this narrative account.
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Resources in today's devotion:
Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
Di Brandt is a multi-award-winning Winnipeg-based Canadian poet and writer. Learn more about her here.
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LC† Streams of Living Justice is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!