He's got the whole world...

I'm not sure what this image -- a mosaic from a church in Florence -- is meant to represent; I'm certain it's written up somewhere and I could look it up on the internet.

But it's midway through Holy Week, and I'm tired. I'm tired of Lent, tired of not living up to my own standards, tired of not meeting other people's needs, tired of other people not meeting my needs... just tired. And tomorrow the real work of the week begins.

So today, instead of doing the research, I'm just going to jump to conclusions -- a leap all too familiar for me -- and I'll hope that what I assume does not (as my daughter is fond of saying) "make an ASS of U and ME."

I'm not sure if you can tell, but Jesus appears to be holding a bright blue ball in this picture, and there is a pot of lilies at the center of the image. I would like to think that bright blue ball is the earth, though, again, I should do the research. I don't know when this church was built, this mosaic completed, or where that falls in relation to the discovery that the earth was round. And I don't know if lilies had already come to symbolize Easter when this church was built. Suffice it to say that, for me, in this picture, part of the promise of Easter is that Jesus will continue to cradle the earth. And today, as we begin that final slide down toward Good Friday, that means a lot to me: it's a gentle reminder that we who are tired, impoverished, hungry, jobless, sick, lonely, or any of the other ills that beset humanity are all still very much in God's hands.

And for that, and for the friends and family who are all so loving and patient with me, I will always be grateful.