XIII. Jesus is taken from the cross
After Pilate had been assured of Jesus’ death, he granted the body to Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph “bought a shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, and wrapped him in the shroud.” Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there. Long ago, when she had let old Simeon hold her child in his arms, she had heard his words: “A sword will pierce your soul”. Now as she received the body of Jesus in her arms, these words were being fulfilled. Jesus had suffered and died, but the sorrow of her who had loved him as mother now brought forth a pain such as had never been suffered before by any human being. She, who had embraced the Son of God with her love, now embraced the whole of humanity with her sorrow. Mary received the body of Jesus and held him in her immense solitude. The intimate union between love and sorrow that was formed as she held her son in her arms would continue to exist in all those who chose to live close to the heart of God.
Excerpt from Henri Nouwen’s Walk With Jesus, Orbis Books. Posted with the kind permission of the publisher.
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March 20th, 2008 @ 9:35 am
As we’re nearing the end of the Stations of the Cross and today is Maundy Thursday, I went back to read again and especially thought about the Preface to Henri Nouwen’s book where he writes about Sister Helen David’s paintings. Then looked at each painting again throughout the book and, you know what?, the paintings seemed to become pictures of people who have been writing here on this blog. And I think Carl Spaeder is right that the subjects accepted the “cross” that were given to them. Maybe it’s a very subjective experience because we can’t see each other actually so we can imagine, especially through Sister Helen David’s paintings. My prayers are with everyone and especially with Patty and Roger and Steve with his SOULdiers.
March 19th, 2008 @ 10:05 pm
Nazhat, our Chaldean friend, also shared that an Archbishop was kidnapped and killed in Mosul. Christians are being persecuted there. Sometimes I think that the devil strikes at God’s people especially viciously during holy times of the liturgical year. We grieve along with Nazhat.
March 19th, 2008 @ 8:51 pm
I have, to use the familiar terms, embraced Christ as Savior (”There is salvation in no one else….”) and Lord (the one who calls the signals & gives the orders). But because I was a loner (even a nerd!) for so long I’ve especially come to appreciate Him & embrace Him as the best friend any person could have…and to welcome/enjoy His friendship as it comes to me through other of His followers.
March 19th, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
We had Bible study in our church this morning. Small group of retired people studying the book of Exodus. Occasionally we are joined by a Chaldean woman whose native country is Iraq. Detroit has become home for many Middle Eastern peoples. She lifted up the concerns that there is not sufficient electricity over there, nor sufficient good drinking water, that the situation is still dire even after 5 years. The only thing to do is to realize both in Iraq and in our own country, we are all broken and at the end of the time of study we prayed for God to lead us, and we are remembering Jesus and the Cross and that He is risen, He will come again.
March 19th, 2008 @ 7:04 am
Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross. It was his friend, Joseph of Arimathea, who stepped forward to identify with this crucified as a criminal, enemy of Rome, rejected by his own, corpse of a man who is the Son of God It was probably not a “politically correct” or “ecclesiastically smart” thing to do. But he did it. As Mary accepted the message from the Angel Gabriel at the Immaculate conception, Joseph has accepted the leading of God to embrace the broken body of the Savior. The Eucharist is taking the broken body, the spilled blood into our lives – to be our sustenance and joy. How have you embraced this man – rejected of men – today?