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fortress, kickstart, Lord, praise, prayer, refuge, rock, salvation, stength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
Some mornings there is no reason for the joy or distress we feel upon waking up to the day. Nothing on the calendar is more than a mild challenge, no ache is greater than the normal twinge of aging, no residuals of a delightful or disturbing dream can be named. Some of us do, however, act as the weather directs: sunny or gray depending…
It’s good to have a few “fall-back” kickstarts just in case we need something to get going. Prayer helps, and certain quick reminders from the psalms do just fine most days. Today provides one such example. I recommend saying it aloud and then keeping it written in a convenient place for any gloomy day.
I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised be the Lord, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies.
I sit this morning in the quiet moment where nothing stirs except the very energetic birds and where the light came as quickly just now as if someone had flipped a switch to begin the day. Everything is still outside while in my head the thoughts and plans that woke me at 4:30 begin to dissipate so I can notice and embrace the silence…
Today’s lectionary recounting of Paul’s speech to the people of Athens is, for me, the most meaningful text in the Bible book of The Acts of the Apostles. There are many stirring speeches and miraculous deeds in this important record of early Christianity but this inspired oration holds a truth that the world would be wise to consider now. If I were trying to express the deepest truth of a faith worthy of all humanity (to everyone else who professes to believe in a divine being, a “first cause,” not tied to a religion but larger than that, not gender specific, although necessarily personified at times as he, she, or it but also beyond that), I believe I could find no better expression than these words of Paul.
After a weekend of observing radical transformations of vast fields into vibrant green carpets and watching the waning sun splash patterns of color like the best abstract artists – not to mention the truest blue of the sky, I turn to Teilhard de Chardin for a fitting prayer of gratitude this morning. He does not disappoint.
Today, a question, the refrain from the lectionary psalm response. Repeated three times, it reminds me of the necessity of gratitude and it is enough.
On this day we begin the season of “daylight saving” by having decided at some moment in the past to say that 7:00AM is now 8:00AM in order that darkness will not descend upon us so soon tonight. It seems ironic that the Scriptures for today include (if reading the alternate “Year A’ texts) a strong directive from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as well as a declaration before the gospel from John – both on the subject of light.
Sometimes I think we can get carried away doing penance during Lent. I must admit that for many years I refused to talk about the need for repentance because I thought life held enough challenge and people I knew needed nothing more to feed their poor self-esteem. I have now come, I hope, to a healthier place where admission of imperfection lives in concert with a willingness to reform. This is the message that stands out to me in the lectionary readings for today, clarifying God’s desire for us and urging us on from the very first words.
I always marvel at the way good writers can convince readers of their stated purpose or evoke emotional response just by a turn of phrase. I am also well aware of the fact that each of us is affected differently by language, given our personality, culture and life experience. That’s why I sometimes use alternate translations from the Scriptures. Today is a good example for me because I find myself responding with joy to verses in Psalm 103 from both the lectionary translation and from Ancient Songs Sung Anew: the Psalms As Poetry. A sampling of lines from each may lean you toward a favorite or may allow each to touch you in a way that expands your appreciation – or you may find a translation that suits you better than both. Take a look and see what you think.
The first reading in our lectionary this morning contains a perfect blessing for this day of new beginnings. Before I transcribe it here, I have two notes from “last year” to be attended to.