Found in Translation

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blessing, God, gratitude, images, joy, names, Nan Merrill, praise, Psalm 113, Psalms for Praying, sing praises, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, translation

We often hear that meanings are “lost in translation.” This morning I was gratified to read two modern translations of Psalm 113, in addition to the traditional one from the New American Bible, that amplified the meaning in lovely ways. From the poetic Ancient Songs Sung Anew I was called to reflect on the many names by which people of different religious traditions address God. It is a beautiful reflection which connects our image of God to the beauty of the universe. Hallelujah! it begins. There is a name of One that only servants know, the name of God, they carry deep inside, and praise as a source of blessing throughout life and time. It is a name they lift in honor and in prayer from dawn till dusk. It flies above the nations like a flag and in the sky at night it hangs, a star of beauty.It is the name of One who sits enthroned and gazes out upon the blanket of the universe…

Nan Merrill, in her book Psalms for Praying, calls us more actively to praise while naming God in increasingly vivid images: Sing praises to the Beloved of all hearts! Sing praises, all you who would honor Love, sing praises to the Creator of the universe! Bless the Holy One from this time forth and forever more! Aspire to know the Unknowable, to enter fully into the Great Mystery, to be fertile ground to the Heart-seed of Love…One can hardly stay seated when joining the poet in the ever-expanding song of praise as her language lifts and soars.

Maybe today is a good day to reflect on the many ways we image God and to listen to our hearts for new titles – maybe because we have had experiences that call us to more or have deepened our need or have grown us beyond where we began with God. Or maybe we just need to hold our ever-present, well-worn images that need to be spoken aloud so that our reverence can cause us to bow again to the One we have always known. May this day be a blessing to all of us, in God’s name, I pray.

 

The Secret Name

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blessing, God, name, one, praise, pray, psalm, Psalm 113, Star, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe

Psalm 113 is a psalm of praise that sang to me in a new way this morning from an alternate translation. Listen and see if any of the images “sing” to you:

Hallelujah! There is a name of One that only servants know, the name of God they carry deep inside and pray as source of blessing throughout life and time. It is a name they lift in honor and in praise from dawn till dusk. It flies above the nations like a flag and in the sky at night it hangs, a star of beauty. It is the name of One who sits enthroned and gazes out upon the blanket of the universe, but comes from underneath the weak like dust, and through the ashes to the poor, and lifts them up and sets them high as kings and queens of earth, and takes the barren, bitter, childless women and turns them into mothers of all the children.

Looking Ahead

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holiness, Maximilian Kolbe, praise God, Psalm 113, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Ukraine

I’m looking ahead this morning to an overnight out of town for work, knowing I will be without internet service tomorrow morning. I was prepared to comment on the psalm for this morning (113) which contains a good mantra-like line that can really stand alone as a prayer for the day. It says, “From the rising to the setting of the sun is the name of the Lord to be praised.” Good enough as a message, yes?

I couldn’t leave it there, however, because tomorrow is the feast of another modern saint, Maximilian Kolbe, who was murdered at Auschwitz in 1941. His story became known because he had offered himself to the Nazis in place of a man with a wife and family. That man had been chosen at random as one of 10 men marked for death because one prisoner had escaped. As the replacement, Kolbe starved and was ultimately injected with carbolic acid. His body was then incinerated.

Reading the story of Maximilian Kolbe’s life reminds me of the verse from today’s psalm. Unlike the random action of the Nazi commandant, Kolbe had begun at an early age to live every day as an act of praise to God. One commentary states that Father Kolbe’s death was not a sudden, last-minute act of heroism. His whole life had been a preparation. His holiness was a limitless, passionate desire to convert the whole world to God.

In addition to his bravery what struck me this morning was the fact that Kolbe was born in Poland, near the city of Lviv (Lvov) which is now part of Ukraine. Perhaps, then, remembering his lovingkindness and courage today and tomorrow is a good opportunity to offer prayer and acts of generosity for the people of Ukraine who are suffering in the present conflict there through no fault of their own.