Having got to bed early to avoid sleep loss due to clocks changing to Summer Time, I slept well, and the meds didn't have such an unsettling impact on me. An overcast start to the day, with a cold wind blowing on my way to St Catherine's for the Parish Eucharist. I was relieved our procession with palms took place indoors for this reason. Walking around the church singing from a hymnbook while feeling light headed felt slightly precarious, thanks to my field of vision impairment, but I didn't trip over or bump into anyone. By the end of the service, slow reactions and the light headed sensation started to diminish I was able to chat with people over coffee before returning home.
Listening to the St Matthew Passion reading, the bystanders' words 'This man is calling on Elijah' after Jesus cried out "Eli Eli lama sabachthani" caught my attention afresh in a way they didn't when I was busy reading them aloud. Those Aramaic words open Psalm 22. 'Eli Eli' translates as 'my God, my God' but it seems the bystanders think that Jesus is addressing Elijah (which means 'my God is Yahweh') the prophet expected to return and save his people. They mistakenly assume Jesus appeals to Elijah to rescue him and are nervously joking about it as nobody knows what might happen next.
That opening verse may be heard as a cry of desolation and abandonment, but despite the expressions of suffering in verses which follow, Psalm 22 ends in an expression of triumphant victory emerging from complete trust in God's power and mercy. The death of Jesus is far from the tragedy it may seem to be. The bystanders and his murderers have no control of unfolding events. The humble self sacrifice of Jesus is what determines their outcome and reveals the power of God's merciful love in Him.
After lunch, I completed writing the Reggie Rabbit story for which I could only find a drafted outline in my archives. I was quite pleased with the result, but I have no idea of how I might have intended the story to be told in the first place. Then I went out for a walk. The cold wind turned into a damp wind, so I only walked for half an hour, reluctant to get completely soaked through. I went out after supper and walked again in the dark before settling down for the night, trying to recall how the story about Reggie Rabbit and the Magic Chocolate Carrots might have unfolded when I first told it to the girls.
Having mentioned this to Rachel, she proceeded to recall the outline of a story, I told her more than forty years ago in enough detail to enable me to fill in the narrative detail. Letting my imagination go to work on this was great fun, but I had to stop and not press on into the night re-writing it. I rely on the right quality of sleep to cope with another day on this wretched medication.
Trump's popularity rating has slumped further, his leadership blamed for rising fuel and commodity prices. He and his envoys press on with forcing peace negotiations, reassuring critics with vague remarks about the war being over soon as an invasion force of American Marines is being deployed. His credibility and trustworthiness as a war leader are doubted by military experts.
Iranian backed Houthi insurgents in Yemen as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon continue to attack Israel with missiles and drones. Gulf State energy production facilities, a key factor in both regional and global economies are likewise targeted, affecting manufacturing and food production. Fertiliser supply shortages lead to lower crop yields. Energy costs will increase food prices. People in poor countries suffer most.
Houthi attacks, whether intentional or not, resulted in shrapnel from a missile shot down hitting the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. For 'safety reasons', including the lack of bomb shelters, the Western Wall and the Al Aqsa compound have been forced to close in addition to the church. There is, in any case, a restriction on gatherings of more than fifty people in all public places. Worshippers were barred from making the traditional Palm Sunday procession in the very place where the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem took place as well as celebrating the first Mass of Holy Week in the Holy City. The Maundy Thursday Mass of the Chrism, usually a large gathering, has been cancelled. It's not entirely without precedent. Similar enforced closures took place during the covid pandemic. Holy Week observances will take place, albeit subject to the restrictions imposed.
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