Artistic Afternoons: As we spend time with Jesus’ final words to the crowds, to the religious authorities, and to his friends this Holy Tuesday, consider what yours would be. Who would you want to make sure to speak with and what would you want to say? Would you have tears of lament (Jerusalem, Jerusalem)? Words of anger and justice (Woe to you…who shut up the kingdom of heaven against men!)? Are there stories you’d want to tell? It can seem overwhelming, but Jesus doesn’t seem worried that he’s not going to be able to say all he needs to before his time runs out. He simply continues to go about his teaching and healing and responding to the ones who were there. What would you want to say to him, ask him, God-in-the-flesh, if you were one of them? Hold these questions—What do you want to say? To whom?—and write some found poetry today (especially if it feels overwhelming to try to figure out how to say what you need to say). Take a page or two of text and cut it up, drawing from the pool of words that are there to express your own (or use one of those sets of magnetic poetry words, if that's what you have available to you!). Let the limitations of those particular words make space for your creativity. What do you find that your soul is wanting to say, that you couldn’t quite articulate? How does the process let you settle into expressing yourself without the anxiety of trying to make sure it all gets said the right way, in the right amount of time?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-04-04 20:58:18 UTC