THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Meditations on
St. Patrick's Day and Easter
My column this week will depart
from my
usual historical probe and present thoughts on St. Patrick's Day (which
we of
Irish descent celebrated on March 17) and on Easter, coming
earlier-than-usual
this year on Sunday, March 23.
St. Patrick was the patron Saint
of
The
Breastplate Prayer of St. Patrick
(shortened version)
I
arise today
Through
the strength of heaven,
|
Light
of the sun, Splendor of fire, Swiftness of wind, Depth of the sea,
Stability of
earth, Firmness of rock.
I
arise today
Through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's
might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's hand to guard me,
Afar
and anear, Alone or in a multitude. Christ shield me today Against
wounding;
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ on my right,
Christ
on my left, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in me.
I
arise today
Through
the mighty strength
Of
the Lord of Creation. - Amen
Holy Week is now in progress.
Many of you,
no doubt, are participating in Holy Week services at your church. This
week we
celebrate Maundy Thursday, the day Christ instituted the Lord's Supper,
the
night he was betrayed and arrested.
The next day we call Good Friday. The thing "good" about it was the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world.
But then came Easter on the
first day of
the week following Good Friday, and Hope was born eternally with the
glorious
resurrection.
I give you here one of my
original poems
when I consider what it might have been like with Mary Magdalene at the
tomb on
that first Easter morning. You might like to read John 20:1-18 on which
this is
based:
As
Mary Magdalene in the Garden
Mary
Magdalene went early
Before
the dawning light
Had
spread abroad the sunshine
To
give the darkness flight.
Sadness
filled her heart
For
lo, her Lord was dead.
He
who had promised life and hope
Had
died with thorn-crowned head.
Frightened
was she when she saw
The
sepulchre's stone awry;
Who
had taken the Lord's body?
Was
it not enough for Him to die?
To
Peter and the other disciples
She
ran with tears and said:
"They
have taken away his body;
Wherever
could He be laid?
Peter
and others went to find
That
Mary's word was true.
No
longer was He in the grave,
Only
burial clothes there to view.
The
disciples left and went home
But
Mary lingered there,
Weeping
in the dark garden
And
mourning her Lord so fair.
Then
a voice said "Mary!"
And
when He spoke she knew
It
was her Lord triumphant!
"Rabboni!"
she said, "'Tis you!"
"I
have a message for you to bear:
Tell
the disciples I now live;
As
I told them when I taught,
This
message of life you must give!"
Mary
in the garden was afraid
When
lingering shades of night
Still
surrounded the tomb,
But
then what a glorious Light;
The
very Son of God arose
Victorious
from the grave,
And
to Mary Magdalene, His servant,
The
glorious message He gave.
She
ran telling the disciples:
"I
have seen the Lord!"
He
lives, He conquered death,
We
have His holy Word
To
tell others that death
No
longer over us reigns
The
Christ our Lord is risen!
Now
my soul forever sings!"
As
Mary in the garden
We
need not fear shades of night,
Knowing
that Life awaits us
In
His marvelous life changing Light.
-Ethelene
D. Jones
c2008 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Mar. 20, 2008 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Updated August 9,
2009
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