Fat Tuesday

This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Messiah." And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,'" as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, "Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.John 1:19-28 

Fat Tuesday

As they dance down the street

ending the celebrations for a time

the Lord of the Dance is with them

making merry and drawing us all in.

As we feast one last time before Lent

when we let go for a time and party

in the midst of all the wild hullabaloo

the Holy One is sitting with us too.

God brought forth the plenty and the want

the need to be silent and the urge to cry with joy

all the world is on the edge of new life

and we must take our joy where we find it.

Tomorrow is for ashes and for introsepction

today is for giving thanks for life pulsing through

even deep within the snow drifts we can rejoice

for we are safe and warm within God's arms.