Zeal for God’s House

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crucifixion, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., God's house, Holy Week, Isaiah, Jesus, prophecy, prophets, psalm 69, zeal

In today’s first reading (Isaiah 50) the prophet speaks of all the suffering he has been willing to undergo in his vocation of prophecy. From “buffets and spitting” to violent death he is called to endure whatever comes from those who refuse the messages he [or she] is compelled to offer in the service of truth, the word of God. We know this from the prophets of our own time, mindful of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we just remembered the 50th anniversary of the Selma March. Jesus spoke the word of God in his very being and today Psalm 69 speaks of his motivation as he continues the journey toward crucifixion. It says: I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons, because zeal for your house consumes me.

The word zeal (from the Greek zelos) speaks loudly to me. It has many meanings. Among them are: passion, ardor, love, fervor, fire, avidity, devotion, enthusiasm, eagerness, keenness, gusto, vigor and intensity. Today I will carry it with me in all of its iterations, pondering the level of my zeal for “God’s house” and joining myself to the mind of Jesus as I move deeper into the experience of this Holy Week.

Going to God’s House

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dwelling, God's house, higher purpose, joy, pilgrim's path, psalm 84, sparrow, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The beautiful psalm 84 speaks to yearning hearts of the possibility of resting with God in God’s own “house.” How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts, sings the psalmist this morning. My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. It doesn’t matter who we are because even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest in which she puts her young. Another translation continues, Anyone who lives near you is filled with higher purpose and fuller joy. And then a question: What else is there but to go on praising you?

The psalm goes on to speak of the pilgrim’s path that, even in the desert, continues to give joy if we draw our strength from God at each step. It is that sense of a safe place – a place to nest – that motivates me. It calls up courage that is found inside even when the outer world is rocked with conflict; it soothes the soul and keeps one moving forward, joyfully praising all the way home.