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Lent Lectio: Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29
April 15, 2011
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.”
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected ?has become the cornerstone;
23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
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There is something good in a place where there was nothing
It is his love.
I now have something for which to give thanks. Something empty just got filled up.
I can walk through gates because they have been opened up by you, Lord.
I have salvation because you have answered me.
Even when I and others reject you, you have this way and presence where everything else ends up resting upon you—there you are holding it up.
My eyes have something to marvel at, because you have done something great.
I have something to rejoice in, because you have brought to pass what I have been hoping for all this time. Today. You made it happen today.
Blessing happens around you whether I am coming or going. It has its way of rubbing off on me.
You exist and I get the benefit of being shined upon.
This makes me want to celebrate.
Oh Lord, your love draws me in and helps me see that all that I have in this world is a result of something that you have done, or even simpler: your presence.
Your love is the thing that holds my life together and upon which all my dreams rest.
Your love cannot be contained by what I see or experience—-it lasts forever.
I give you my praise—and it is enough; even though if we were to measure my praise against your love there would be no comparison.
Lent Lectio: Psalm 130, A Song of Ascents
April 8, 2011
Psalm 130
A Song of Ascents.
Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
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the cadence of this song
resonates with an intensity
like a porthole witnessing my own inertia
because this world often leaves me
tattered
edges fraying
in the dark depths
yet as my heart cries out
I find myself stirred to such sudden
awareness of an Undefiled Attention
that stokes my flame
entangled as it has become with
I-Will-Be-Who-I-Will-Be
so-much-so that even in my darkest crevices
I can become deliciously abuzz with
the conundrum of fear and forgiveness
the enigma of Divine Intervention
as hope rests her delicate hand upon my shoulder
beckoning for me to evermore savor redemption
amid the echoing hush of wilderness awe
thus I find myself
watching and waiting
for each new day
and new mercies
whose touch enflames my heart
and whose fingers entwine with my own
summoning me to ascend to sanctuary
singing at their side
a wondrous song of deliverance
+O Lord, though the apple tree fade and the vineyard fail; though storms surge or the heavens dry up; redeem us with Your Presence and be with us on our way to gather with You-Who-Walks-Among-Us, because our lips – our tongues – they thirst for Living Water as we await Your Word like watchmen on the walls just before sunrise. Amen+
Lent Lectio: Psalm 23
April 1, 2011
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
It is verse three that catches my eye and my breath.
He refreshes my soul. (Or, he restores my soul).
The winter of life must become spring. Our soul does transition – at some point, usually long after we would wish – from the bleakness and desolation of winter into the hope of the new buds of spring.
He refreshes my soul.
I can be sure of that relationship with the God who shepherds me.
He restores my soul.
I do not restore my own soul, I cannot refresh my own inner self. God acts; I am the subject of the sentence and of God.
He
restores
my
soul.
Lent Lectio: Psalm 95
March 25, 2011
Let’s come together and sing for joy to the Lord!
Let’s give a shout to our rock-solid God, our Savior.
Why? Because the Lord is the great God, the great King,
surpassing any other “god” or idol you can name!
He holds the depths, owns the mountains, made the seas, created land!
This is our God! So let’s worship our Lord and Creator,
get down on our knees, touch our heads to the ground.
We’re his sheep, the flock he loves, the flock he feeds in his pasture, this earth.
Hear your Shepherd’s voice:
Your ancestors quarreled at Meribah, wondering if I would provide for them,
They challenged me at Massah, questioning if I was really with them in the wilderness.
Despite what I had done up to that point, this is where they ended up!
But you, keep your hearts tender and trusting.
An entire generation of people lost out because of their own choice,
wandering down the Path of Untrust, not acknowledging my love toward them!
And in my anger I promised that they’d reap the consequences of their actions,
not entering into the restful space I had waiting for them.
(reworking of psalm 95, djn)
________________
We peer into ancient galaxies,
those back corners of time
dazzle over flavors of quarks
uncurl genomes, can build burj khalifa
but are weak daily, blind mostly
given to fear and faithlessness,
believing ourselves better
justified in our doubt always
amnesiacs of grace
and yet
not a moment passes
where it could be otherwise.
Lent Lectio: Psalm 121 A Song of Ascents
March 18, 2011
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From whence does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip, he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.