Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum is on hiatus this week as her laptop is kaput and it is also the holiest day of the year during the holiest week of the year. Some of us are still posting unofficial quick takes though.

— 1 —

It’s baaaaack!!! Apparently, my bronchitis from earlier in the month never completely left and after being just a lingering cough for a couple weeks, it hit with a vengeance on Monday night which sent me into respiratory distress on Tuesday. Thankfully, the receptionist at my provider’s office handed him the phone and he told me that they would see me the second I walked in the door. They handed me over to the PA student doing an internship there who was absolutely wonderful, came up with a good treatment plan, sat there with his hand on my knee while I sobbed because I was so scared and had no back-up person to watch Daniel if I ended up in the hospital (my parents were out of town), got me hooked up with a nebulizer, and tried to find something he could prescribe that *wasn’t* Prednisone which gives a fairly volatile reaction. (It’s like throwing gasoline on a fire — we’re talking the mother of all panic attacks that results from Prednisone with me.) I saw the actual PA at the clinic on Thursday who said that my lungs are clear and the fact that I feel like I’m being waterboarded is probably because I have pretty bad bronchitis. After excoriating me for refusing Prednisone, he put me on a heavy-duty steroid inhaler and some Cipro to knock out the infection that the Z-Pack seems to have missed. I still feel really weak and I spent much of the day in bed or on the couch sleeping, but it does feel like something is finally working.

— 2 —

Pictures for today. Instead of posting Quick Takes, Kelly posted images of the crucifixion. Go check them out.

— 3 —

Some relevant music. Here is my favorite chorus from Handel’s Messiah that is pertinent to this day:

— 4 —

The specialness of this day. This is the last time in my lifetime that the Annunciation and Good Friday will fall on the same day (March 25th). It presents an interesting situation in which you have both a fast (Good Friday) and a feast (the Annunciation) and the interplay between Mary learning that she will bear a child and then sees him on the Cross 33 years later. I recommend reading this post on it as well as Jessica’s blog post for today which includes the pertient John Dunne poem written in 1608 when these two events fell on the same day.

— 5 —

The question of Christian seder meals. Simcha Fisher writes thoughtfully on why her family has a seder meal but the rest of us probably shouldn’t do it. Short answer: cultural appropriation which is something that has only occurred to me in the last couple years. I also did something stupid and read the combox. Big mistake. It’s annoying to me when people ignore what is written and try to insert their own rationalization for things and I have to give Simcha some credit for not going in there and completely shutting some of the people down.

For the record, I’ve been to seders at churches that have been reverent and well done and I’ve helped put on one at the medium security prison where I volunteered in Montana. I think the most meaningful Maundy Thursday food event for me was at my church in San Jose in 1997 when we had a potluck with readings and Taizé music interspersed it in it. I also echo Simcha’s words:

“If you want to engage your senses on Holy Thursday (beyond the foot washing, which let’s not even talk about. Feet feet feet. Lady feet, Muslim feet, more and more feet, twenty-four feet!), it would be fine to make some unleavened bread and some lamb and serve it with wine in your home. That will give you a small idea of what it felt like to be in that room on Holy Thursday, or what it felt like to be waiting with girded loins for the sign to flee Egypt.”

— 6 —

Another beautiful Good Friday hymn. I love the beautiful harmonies on this version.

— 7 —

So, um… about that Lenten discipline thing… My modified Coptic fast ended pretty abruptly on Monday when I realized that large amounts of chicken soup were going to be in my future. In all honesty, it’s one of the few things I haven’t cough/vomited up from the coughing. I’ll probably write a post for Laura talking about what I’ve learned. After all, she mothered me from afar all week — it’s the least I can do to thank her. 🙂

Have a blessed weekend, y’all!