Tuesday of Holy Week. There are plenty of Triduum celebrations planned in the Lutheran Church; might check out several, depending on my schedule, etc. However, the weather is supposed to deteriorate but heck, this is Iceland.

“And the sojourners who lived among them” [Josh 9.35]. Words similar to Rahab in 6.25 where the preposition betok is used, in the midst in the sense of being in the heart of something or a people.

Often in the mornings or sometimes in the evening I listen to the AA broadcast, Americans who’ve visited Iceland or taped in the US. The quality is exceptional plus introduced me to the basic tenets of this program which had been unfamiliar to me. Virtually every speaker stresses reliance on a “higher power,” a famous phrase of AA which obviously means God but without specific religious affiliation. Those who’ve hit bottom as far as drinking goes start their ascent when discovering this higher power. It also struck me that most of us balk at this reliance, and its historic ramifications are well known, so much so that we don’t consider it more closely. Everything around us says no to it yet at the same time we’re drawn irresistibly towards it. I also situate this phenomenon within Icelandic culture, quite secular, but of a very different type than elsewhere. By that I mean my frequent references to the incredible simplicity of Icelanders regardless of age, education and other conditions. Foreigners pick this up but perhaps don’t fathom it as closely as they should, for it’d make all the difference to their visit, either briefly or for a longer period.