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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Easter Holy Week - EASTER SUNDAY


Mathew Chapter 28 Verses 1 - 20.

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

2. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow;

4. And for fear of him, the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

5. And the angel ansered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I know, that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

6. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said,. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

7. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you unto Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

8. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

9. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "All hail", and they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

10. Then said Jesus unto them, "Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me."

11. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

12. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

13. Saying, 'Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.'

15. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported amon ghe Jews until this day.

16. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17. And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.

18. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. " Amen.




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from THE HOLLOW MEN       by T.S. Eliot

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us - if at all - not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men. 


High Flight      by John Gillespie Magee

O, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hovering there,
I've chased the shouting wind along and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirous, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew,
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God 

Easter Holy Week - Saturday

Mathew Chapter 27 Verses 32-66

Chapter 27

When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:

2. And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

3. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he sawthat he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

4. Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

5. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

6. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.

7. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

8. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

9. Then was fulfilled that which was poken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did vallue:

10. And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.

11. And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, "Thou sayest".

12. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

13. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness aginast thee?

14. And he answered him to never a word: insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

15. Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

16. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

17. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, "Whom will ye that I release unto you Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?"

18. For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

19. When he was set down on the judgement seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

20. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

21. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, "Barabbas."  

22. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

23. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying,
Let him be crucified.

24. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

25. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

26. Then released he Barabbas unto them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathred unto him the whole band of soldiers.

28. And they stipped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

29. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

30. And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

31. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

32. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; him they compelled to bear his cross.

33. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

34. They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when had had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

35. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. 'They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.'

36. And sitting down they watched him there;

37. And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, on on the right hand, and anothr on the left.

39. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads.

40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and builds it in three days, save thyself, if thou be the Son of  God, come down from the cross.

41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

42. He saved others: himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

43. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the Son of God.

44. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

45. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

46. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sa bach tha ni?" that is to say, "My God, My God, why hast thous forsaken me?"

47. Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

48. And straightaway one of them ran and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

49. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

50. Jesus, when had had cried again, with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51. And, behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

52. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.

53. And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

54. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly this was the Song of God.'

55. And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him;

56. Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

57. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:

58. He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

59. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth.

60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

61. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62. Now the next day, that followed, the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

63. Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

64. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error whall be worse than the first.

65. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

66. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

    

Friday, March 29, 2013

Easter Holy Week - GOOD FRIDAY - THE CRUCIFIXION

Reading:

Matthew
               Chapter. 27 Verses 1-31.
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Good Friday - The Crucifixion

At noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours.

At three o'clock Jesus cried out (from the cross upon which he had been nailed)  with a loud shout, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?" Some of the people there heard him and said, "Listen, he's calling for Elijah."

One of them ran up with a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, and put it on the end of a stick. Then he held it up to Jesus' lips and said, "Wait! Let's see if Elijah is coming to bring him down from the cross!"

With a loud cry Jesus died.

The curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus died.

"This man was really the Son of God!" he said.

                                            Mark. Chapter 15 Verses 33-39 (GNT)

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Sunday, March 24, 2013

PALM SUNDAY - The Beginning of Holy Week

Isaiah Chapter 61 Verses 1-11. 

1.The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2.To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3.To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

4.And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

5. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen and your vinedressers.

6. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God; ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

7. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

8. For I the Lord love judgement, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

9. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

10.I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

11. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things thar are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Street Smart Heart.

http://www.thekaraokechannel.com/online/karaoke/community/Dawn-M.-Nevills/Charlie-Robison/El-Cerrito-Place/r_701022#rid=701022

Flick.

http://www.thekaraokechannel.com/online/karaoke/community/Dawn-M.-Nevills/Ray-Charles-Betty-Carter/Baby%2C-It%27s-Cold-Outside-%28Duet%29/r_777821#rid=777821

Farm Fresh and Elegiac

I have morphed into ...."Aunt Clara, doorknob collector with a Cross."
I am not sure when this happened:
Perhaps somewhere between more despairing news of the latest
Gang rape on public transit in India,
(Midst scenic wonderment, and awe at History and Age, in culture and visual, scenic architectural progress - which ruined the pleasure for someone expecting girly-worldy acceptance, presumably)
...and my despair at being relegated, in secret bursts at work, to
Comfortable shoes, at last. At least Doc Martins made us look cool, despite the absence-of-Mennonite
Sympathies shouting that we must be gay for the practicality, knowing we risked ice on the steps again, teetering wildly, without a little touch of Army, and grit-teethed and grim, settled for the punishment of
Asexual fashion accusation, firm-soled and vertebrae intact.
Even George Clooney said he hated that version of "shoe jamming" - and I, for one, believed his chakra empathy.
(This is a suave, gloved, quiet side of him that looks momentarily pained at inflicted humiliation, regardless of the recipient, and I decide I like this unclown-in-clown. It reminds me of closed velvet, and musing.)
I look at these polished and presuming Men, these developed psyches of sensivity and ordered chaos, beneath the thinning vulnerability of leonine alpha-isms, with affection, knowing that glow emanating from my
Other self, my Own Self - different, and less smarting, than my Owned Beingness, Lightness or No - lights
Nothing but
Inspiration, now, perhaps, in svelte exchanges of paint-perfect and sway swing, bowing. It is enough, waning and whispering, and muttering against the Passage of Time.
This is different, and relaxed, juxtaposed against the public transit obscenity, paining my awareness of regression, after years of work, and I forgive the requirement for perfection. The world, after all, demands it. I consider the idea that I might be an acquired taste....like nonsparkling, fortified wine sailing smoothly into Malbec and Merlot, unapologetically. My cheeks even tingle in the cold air, and bloom impossible roses, defying the near-50 precipice on which I find myself, veering precariously between forgotten sensibility, and a whiff of Aramis.

Paco Rabanne, ribold and refreshed, seems inappropriate, here. The spice wins, quietly jubilant, and,
unscathed and steady, I walk through the evening mist, shrouded by a brilliant scarf, and humming.

That I am alone with my memories, spit- swear fierce, still, amidst the faces and changes and loves and discoveries I watch, unobtrusively, from the netherworld of the "unpresent", lyre-stroked and searching, is simply
A spur.   I realize I have lost 17 pounds, absentmindedly, amidst the
Overwork, startled at my re-emerging breasts and shrinking hips.
I am annoyed, liking the
Plump Plumb nomenclature, askance at the
Rickets and Picky petulance of "not myself, apparently", threatening to
Intrude and attempt
Modification.....
Again.
I wish they'd stick to their sticks, do their damned jobs, and
Guard my tomatoes, dammit. 
There are world sites to see, unmolested and cash-strewing,
as  a hunger for life, love, and snapshot eyes of yesteryear
Attempt to save the World, and its forgotten.
 



Friday, March 8, 2013

March 8 - International Women's Day

....a kindness, today, for the women in your life - and all of those who remind you that love still matters, after all....perhaps with just a smile. 

Twig snap silent

In the gun metal mist morning of exquisite ice silence, 'twixt lurking night owl shriek,
 and watery sunbeam leak,
I imagine that you breathe sharply, taunting moaning haunt howls with the fire and cloud burst of suspense -
Slicing space between us into slivers of shiver;
Banishing the chasms upon chasms within us, glimmer deep, which mock
The pounding constance, that, even now, urge us toward the rush of melted
Spring.