Bowing to Beauty

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, awe, child, humility, Jesus, Lynn Bauman, psalm 2, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I found a surprise today from the Acts of the Apostles. Paul is in Antioch, preaching in the synagogue, telling the story of Jesus. Toward the end of the text, speaking of the Resurrection he says, “…what God promised our fathers …as is written in the second psalm…”

Although there are many references to the Hebrew Scriptures in the New Testament, I don’t recall ever reading any specific reference to chapter or verse, like “the second Psalm.” I wondered at that so I went, of course, to Psalm 2 and found exactly what Paul was referencing in speaking of Jesus, a very familiar verse. (“You are my son; this day I have begotten you.” )

Looking for more as an expansion of the message of Psalm 2, I found from Lynn Bauman a lovely, inclusive translation*. “God says, ‘You are a child of mine, this day I birth you.'” A bit later in the psalm we see the responsibility accompanying God’s favor to the people, as the psalmist proclaims: Learn service to the God of earth and heaven. In humility and awe draw close, come near.

I look up from my computer and see the sun dappling my prayer plant as it bows in beauty before me. The tiniest of breezes ruffles the leaves. The birds are singing and the sun continues to warm the day. How can I not “draw close in awe and humility” to God in the presence of these beautiful signs and the expectation of what God holds for us this day.

*Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 3)

The Bigger Picture

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, blessedness, consciousness, humility, Lynn Bauman, psalm 2, psalms, service, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The relevance of the Psalms is timeless as the issues raised and the relationships considered apply to antiquity as well as to world situations in our own day. Following on yesterday’s post, we have Psalm 2 today that moves us from the individual to the universal and puts God squarely in the midst of world events and the clashes of nation with nation. At present the question of who will rule the world and how is filled with tension and dangerous rhetoric seems to escalate with each passing day.

In the midst of such a situation, the psalmist calls for the rulers of nations to turn to God for guidance. I found an interesting twist in Lynn Bauman’s translation of the last verses of the psalm which seems to me to relate directly to the situation at the southern border of the United States of America.

So listen well, you rulers of the peoples, be wise, pay heed to what you hear. Learn service to the God of earth and heaven, in humility and awe draw close, come near. Instead of fury, anger, fear and wrath, know blessedness. Learn to trust and live as a refugee in God. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 3)

How might living with that consciousness change things on the world stage?