The Daughters of Jerusalem © Jan L. Richardson
As Jesus walks toward his crucifixion, a group of women follow after him, wailing in their grief. “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me,” he says to them, “but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Text
The Daughters’ Reply
We weep
that we may have
the strength to live.
We wail
that we may have
the power to speak
of these things
in the times to be.
Let not the days come
when we will mourn
for having given life
for having birthed
for having hoped.
Let not the days come
when we bid
the mountains fall
or the hills
to cover us.
Bid them, rather, to dance
for having loved so well.
Bid them, rather, to fly
for having dreamed so long.
From Sacred Journeys © Jan L. Richardson
P. S. During Holy Week I’m also offering reflections over at The Painted Prayerbook and would be pleased for you to join us there. Today’s artwork originally appeared in my book In Wisdom’s Path: Discovering the Sacred in Every Season.
