Jerusalem Widow
Luke 2:36-38, Lamentations 1:1-2, Isaiah 54:1-4
Married seven short years,
Jerusalem widow
alone and childless,
makes the temple her home.
She does not know
the chatter of children
squeezed around
a table filled with food.
Just the hard knot of hunger,
fasting day and night.
She has no comfort
in the night.
No warm arms
slipped around her belly
as she sleeps.
Instead, she weeps into the dark,
And waits a lifetime.
But when a baby comes
one ordinary day,
She knows.
Her wait is over.
She takes the baby,
and holds him.
Jerusalem widow
(like widow Jerusalem)
cradling salvation in her arms.
Arent de Gelder 1645 – 1727, Simeon and Anna Praise the infant Jesus,
oil on canvas (94 × 107 cm) — c. 1700
Mauritshuis, The Hague
4 comments:
Very nice, Nicole. Great images, good use of contrasts, and a nice turn at the end. Thanks for sharing!
I liked reading this
That's great, Nicole.
Beautiful! I always feel a special sense of joy reading the nativity narrative when we get to the part about Anna as my first daughter was named after her. She only got a verse or two in the whole Bible... but she got to see the Messiah and she saw who he really was! Isn't that a gracious miracle?
~ Sharon
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