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| The Parade Begins in Manger Square |
Saturday, May 31 / Bethlehem
"Following Maryam"
A parade of hundreds, hundreds and hundreds,
through the well-worn streets of the occupied West Bank;
invoking Maryam, going her Way, knowing beyond knoweldge
that all will be well, all will be well,
all manner of things will be well.
A sister, a re-sister, a poet, a prophet,
whose words are shaped by other prophets,
and reinterpreted in war zones like Gaza,
olive groves and farm lands at the Tent of Nations,
and the liturgies of those who defy racism and despair.
Children laughing at laughable things.
Elders musing on things that never change.
Followers of Jesus and Mohammed noshing
on pizza and onion rings and loving every minute,
as the breezes of God free them all
from the day's dust and oppressive heat.
And all the while, she dashes ahead,
seeking out a friend, an ally, a cousin, a sister.
showing us who in fact we are,
and where in g-d's name we might go.
DGJ
31 May 2025
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Bethlehem, Palestine
"Magnificat"
My soul is alive with thoughts of God.
What a wonder, Their liberating works.
Though the world has been harsh to me,
God has shown me kindness,
seen my worth,
and called me to courage.
Surely, those who come after me will call me blessed.
Even when my heart weighs heavy with grief,
still, so does hope abide with me.
Holy is the One who makes it so.
From generation to generation,
Love’s Mercy is freely handed out;
None are beyond the borders of
God’s transforming compassion.
The power of God is revealed
among those who labor for justice.
They humble the arrogant.
They turn unjust thrones into dust.
Their Wisdom is revealed in
the lives and truths of those on the margins.
God is a feast for the hungry.
God is the great re-distributor of wealth and resources.
God is the ceasing of excessive and destructive production
that all the earth might rest.
Through exiles and enslavement,
famines and wars,
hurricanes and gun violence,
God is a companion in loss,
a deliverer from evil,
a lover whose touch restores.
This is the promise They made
to my ancestors,
to me,
to all the creatures and creations,
now and yet coming,
and in this promise,
I find my strength.
Come, Great Healer,
and be with us.
upon her visitation to Elizabeth:
a modern interpretation of Luke 1:47-55 from enfleshed
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| Youth Group Art Project: Wi'am |
Some years ago, my friend Victoria Rue interviewed dozens of Palestinian women--Christian and Muslim--here in Bethlehem around their experiences in Occupied Palestine and how Maryam's story or spirit lives on in their struggle for daily necessities, artistic freedom and liberation.
The one hour piece she developed is called "Maryam: A Woman of Bethlehem." It weaves many of these interviews out of Maryam's story (told in the New Testament and the Quran)--and it's powerful testimony to the complex lives of Palestinian women in the 21st century and the resilient spirit (so often inspired or awakened in Maryam's presence) that stirs hope in the midst of cruelty and oppression.
Here's the link to the online viewing: https://youtu.be/uVy0-99k7zo?si=FpAkeODCO_advlud
