Leaning into Mercy, or: Resisting Resistance

Rain drops like tears waiting for the sun to be melted away. Photo: A. Furchert

Dear one,

The bells are ringing, calling us for noon prayer here at the Berlin monastery. I am in bed trying to recover from another day-care germ. So I arrive on this holy Monday with a clogged head and a stuffy nose, humbled once more into being a pilgrim myself.

Deprived of clear thinking, but well cared for by my husband and little daughter who bring me tea and tissues, I was scrolling our Passion Week archives. One Aria and interpretation stood out to me. French contralto and conductor Nathalie Stutzmann’s interpretation of the beloved Aria “Erbarme Dich” – literally translated “have pity on me”, always moves me to tears. She embodies every word in her gesture and facial expression, even while conducting her own orchestra. It is like a warm balm to the soul of the weary pilgrim. How she ends her interpretation, with two seconds of exhaustion and consolation mingling in her expression offered me reprieve …