Belonging

God takes his stand in the divine council; he gives judgment among the gods:

“How long will you judge unjustly

by granting favor to the wicked?

Give justice to the lowly and the orphan; maintain the right of the poor and the destitute!

Rescue the lowly and the needy.

Deliver them from the power of the wicked!

They don’t know; they don’t understand; they wander around in the dark. All the earth’s foundations shake.

I hereby declare, “You are gods,

children of the Most High — all of you!

Psalm 82

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and his sandals, and divided them into four shares, one for each soldier. His shirt was seamless, woven as one piece from the top to the bottom.

They said to each other, “Let’s not tear it. Let’s cast lots to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill the scripture,

They divided my clothes among themselves,

and they cast lots for my clothing.

That’s what the soldiers did.

Jesus’ mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood near the cross.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

John 19:23-27

Endings

The sharp retort rang out

As the tie that bound

Snapped,

And untethered she rose,

Freed,

Lifted from this messy life

Into the waiting arms

Of her creator.

There are no words

For this moment,

And yet I write these few,

As a prayer...

That I may hold this grief

As sacred...

This pain as a gift...

A precious reminder

Of the pattern of life,

The fullness of family

And the cost of love.

All images in this installation are copyrighted by Matthew Nelson 2021