Gethsemane
by Mary Oliver
The grass never sleeps.
Or the roses.
Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.
Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.
The cricket has such
splendid fringe on its feet,
and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,
and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.
Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did, maybe
the wind wound itself into a silver tree and didn’t move, maybe
the lake far away, where he once walked as on a blue pavement,
lay still and waited, wild awake.
Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye shut, that could not
keep that vigil, how they must have wept,
so utterly human, knowing this too
must be part of the story.
From LeeAnne Beres, Earth Ministry's Executive Director
The resting is over. My break from busyness this Lenten season has been at times challenging and life giving, but as we enter Jerusalem with Jesus this Holy Week, we are now asked to wait with Him, “wild awake”.
The journey to the cross is a difficult one, one that we began nearly forty days ago in the wilderness of our own separation from God. Yet we know that despite our brokenness, despite our frailties and our failures, despite it all, we know that through Jesus’ death and resurrection we are forgiven.
May each of us, so utterly human like the disciples, be given the strength to lay down our humanity and be present to Jesus’ Passion and the suffering of all creation as we wait for this wondrous and undeserved gift.
1 comment:
Sweet!
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