Reminding God

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forgive, forgiveness, psalm 25, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, your ways

Psalm 25 presents us with a fervent prayer of hope in the goodness of God. It’s as if the psalmist is reminding God of all past promises and urging God to keep them in mind. The refrain is clear: Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant. Were we to hear the entire psalm we would see that the psalmist moves from speaking directly to God, to making a case to all listeners about God’s willingness to forgive our faults – and then back again to direct address to God, asking for that forgiveness for faults and mistakes while again reminding God of the need to be compassionate toward our failures. It moves from complimenting God for such great kindness to reminding God of the necessity for remembrance! I might wonder about the trust of the psalmist in God’s memory!

So then I am led to question my trust level. Do I really think God loves me unconditionally – to such a degree that God will forgive any failing as long as I admit what I’ve done or not done, as long as I repent? Do I really believe God is with me at every moment, loving and guiding me to a deeper life of love? What is my trust quotient today?

After the Rain

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balance, companion, fear, flooding, God, mercy, Nan Merrill, possibility, psalm 25, rain, reflect, restored, shining, soul, steadfast love, sun, teach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thunder, trust, wake up

It’s been raining – torrents and thunder-filled sometimes – for the past three days. Yesterday it was if the divine weatherman was playing with us. Drenching downpours were followed by moments of sun peeking out of big gray clouds – then rain again…Even this morning the deck behind our house is puddle-strewn. I look out at the trees, rain soaked as well, but shining now in full sun. What a relief! I never mind the rain but when we begin to hear of flooding streams I know it’s all too much for the farmers and I pray for the balance to be restored. So today it feels as if God is saying, “Wake up! All your sluggishness is washed away! New possibilities await you!” and I sing a response with the psalmist in a translation by Nan Merrill.

To You, O Love, I lift up my soul; O Heart within my heart, in You I place my trust. Let me not feel unworthy; let not fear rule over me. Yes! let all who open their hearts savor You and bless the earth!…Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for through You will I know wholeness; I shall reflect your light both day and night. I know of your mercy, Compassionate One, and of your steadfast love. You have been with me from the beginning. Forgive the many times I have walked away from You choosing to walk alone. With your steadfast love, once again, companion me along your way. (Psalms for Praying, PS. 25)

 

 

 

 

 

Reminding God

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care, confidence, failure, God, goodness, humble heart, lost, love, path, permission, psalm 25, surrender, teach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, wandering

Psalm 25 is clearly one in which we can see that the psalmist has an ongoing relationship with God. This morning, in an alternative translation of the psalm, I got the notion that God needed reminding of the responsibility of mutuality in that relationship. The lectionary only gives verses 4-8 for our consideration but I want to introduce the text with verse one because it made me smile (as in a parent saying to children who are acting up in some way: “Don’t make me come up there…”). The psalmist begins by reminding God: To you I surrender up my soul, O God. In you I place my deepest trust. May I not regret this wanton act of love; may it never be defeated by some foe.

Perhaps I’m misinterpreting the tone of the psalmist. It may be desire rather than expectation that is being expressed, but I rather like the thought that one might have the confidence that gives permission for such presumption in relationship with God. However you interpret the following verses, the prayer seems a good one for today.

Lead me out upon the path of highest truth that I may learn your wisdom, Lord my God, my saving help day after day. Remember all you’ve ever been to us; from ancient times till now we’ve known your constant care. Remember me, O God, and forget the times when in my youth I failed you. In your great goodness put all this behind, and show the path again to me, even when I’m lost and wandering far away. For you are ever just and fair, you guide all those of humble heart and teach the gentle ones your ways.

 

 

 

 

 

To Begin Anew

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Advent, birth of Jesus, Christian, Christmas, church year, go inward, psalm 25, quiet, reflective, savior, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, ultimate gift, waiting, your ways

Today Christians around the world mark the beginning of the holy season of Advent, the moment when we begin a new liturgical cycle, a new “Church year.” The Latin word itself describes the season: veni (to come) ad (to, or toward). God is coming toward us always, but we look forward and prepare to welcome God in a special way at Christmas. As we commemorate the birth of Jesus into the world, we hope for deeper recognition and birthing in our hearts of what it means to be Christian in our world today. I have always loved Advent, a quieter and more reflective time mirrored to us in the “resting” of nature, a time to go inward. True, this concept is countercultural as the outer world is already in a shopping frenzy, but for me the ultimate gift will be the result of my interior effort during the month ahead. My prayer echoes that of the psalmist this morning who calls out in hope and confidence: Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day. (PS 25:4-5)

God Is Good All the Time

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compassion, God is love, goodness of God, kindness, open our hearts, psalm 25, teach me your ways, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

This morning I’m playing “catch-up” because yesterday I was participating in an overnight retreat where the internet was not available to me. What I would have chosen we actually did discuss and I find it a suitable introductory prayer for today – as perhaps any day. The gospel acclamation for yesterday pleaded, “Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.”

Today I am drawn again to the direct address of the psalmist. Punctuated by the refrain: Teach me your ways, O Lord, Psalm 25 has an interesting nuance in its reasoning and instruction to God. Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord. (vs. 6-7) As if God needed help to remember or encouragement to teach, the psalmist seems to cajole by mentioning some of God’s significant virtues. My interest lies in the last phrase. The psalmist does not ask anything because of any goodness in humanity but because of the goodness of God. I might ask for a remembrance from God by listing all the good things I have tried to do. (It’s sometimes hard to remember we don’t have to “earn” everything.) But, when prompted, I know that the God I trust cannot wait to shower us with love, kindness, compassion…simply because God is love, kindness, compassion, goodness. It is God’s very being that is at play here, a fact that the psalmist seems to know well. Today, then, as I try to live God’s ways I will open my heart to that goodness, knowing that God is cheering me on to an understanding that it’s not about success but rather about a receptivity that will take me all the way home.

My Own Love Song

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books, contemplative, deeper listening, examples by others, God's song, heart, hymn of praise, Jesus, John the Baptist, love song, psalm 25, Teach me your ways O Lord, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, your ways make known to me

In the midst of a prophetic message and a gospel passage about the authority of Jesus and the preaching of John the Baptist, it was Psalm 25 that caught my attention this morning. The refrain was simple. Teach me your ways, O Lord, the psalmist sings. And then there is this verse, direct and to the point: Your ways, O Lord, make known to me. Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God, my savior.

I began to think about all the teachers I have had in my life – in and out of school. Parents, siblings, friends, Sisters of St. Joseph & St. Francis as well as other holy people, events (daily and momentous) and, so often, the natural world. Books have companioned me since I was very young and retreats of all kinds have added insights in the silence. It’s that last that gave me pause because no matter how gifted or dear to me each occasion for learning has been, without reflection the lessons would surely not have been learned.

The psalmist is asking for God to be the teacher and it is the way of God that s/he longs to learn. Books and the example of others can help me see what a life so lived might look like but it takes deep, contemplative listening to wake up to the meanings and resolve to follow what has been revealed. Ultimately it is my heart that must be tuned to God’s song if I am to stay on key and become a hymn of praise that is authentic. In the end, if I have learned the lessons well, there will be nothing left of me but a love song.