Mardi Gras

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

Mardi Gras

It is a day for dancing and song
For pancakes sweet, necklaces bright
A moment to end our epiphany
Making room for deeper silence.

We must throw off the decorations
With one last joyous revelry
The days to come have demands
Tonight we forget to worry.

Worry and sorrow are coming
On this doorstep of Lent we see
The specter of our frail humanity
As we turn the palms into ashes.

Tonight must be enough for now
A new season will break upon us
Our human brokenness held at bay
Rejoicing in the light around us.