in.between (Good Friday_____Easter Sunday)

Not sure when this bit of forest made it into my library; but it seemed appropriate to read Longfellow's epic The Divine Tragedy today. Only after finishing did I do the appropriate research to uncover that it's a first-edition with a subscription from Christmas, 1871.

As evening begins between the hills of Tennessee, various lines settle and nestle in me for the long night ahead. It was a pleasant read, refreshing in many ways, though I found the caramelization of sweetness more in preoccupation with Jesus' story than the artistry itself. 

I'm having a hard time distilling all that sitting these past two afternoons has instilled. 

That is not sad. 

To say one small thing: It has been unspeakably sweet to sit in chunks of the gospels.   

It has taken considerable exercise to clear the brambles of my mind, to gaze upon Christ's incredible obedience. The teachings and prayers of Jesus between the Passover meal and his arrest (recorded in John 13-20) are worth every second of focus and silence! 

"If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." 

John 13:8 

"So Jesus said to Peter, 'Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given me, will I not drink it?" 

John 18:11 

Obedience bids me return to the Tower of Magdala, where Longfellow depicts Mary crying: 

 "Let us go forth...Let us search for [Jesus] 

Until we find him, and pour out our souls

Before his feet, till all that's left of us

Shall be the broken caskets, that once held us!"