Lunch with the Psalms

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John Michael Talbot, Lynn Bauman, psalm 62, psalms, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday we were blessed with two new people at our monthly session of “Lunch with the Psalms.” In the half-decade we have been meeting, there has rarely been any food eaten during our time together. At its inception I envisioned a short noontime meeting when workers in our downtown area could, in fact, bring their lunch and eat while we reflected on the lectionary psalm of the day. As it happens, most people find it difficult to eat and talk at the same time! Our “food” is the nourishment we get from the sharing – at first from the reading of the psalm and then from our exploration of its richness.

There are many English translations of the Psalms in the Bible and we often refer to different ones to enhance our appreciation of a verse. This morning I read the first verse of Psalm 62 from the New American (Roman Catholic) translation and found myself immediately hearing a peaceful melody from John Michael Talbot in my head. “Only in God is my soul at rest; from God is my hope, my salvation…God alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold: I shall not be disturbed at all…” In another version which he calls “the Psalms as Poetry,” Lynn Bauman (Episcopal priest) entitles Psalm 62 “Waiting in Silence.” It begins as follows. “Alone my soul awaits you in the silence, Lord, by you and only you I am restored. You are for me my solid ground, foundation firm on which I stand. Can I be shaken or seized?”

Two expressions of the same sentiment: one may engage us more than the other. This is the beauty of language and a gift of those who study ancient texts and bring them to life for us, touching us in deeper places than our heads. It is the heart that reverberates with the sounds. Speak aloud the verses above. Even better, sing them to enter into the experience of the closeness and care of such a loving God. Reach deep into the words to find what they express…

Blessings on your day!

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?

Singing Our Praise!

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beloved, faithful, glory, harmony, Holy One, humble, love, Nan Merrill, Peace, praise the Lord, presence, psalm 149, psalms, Psalms for Praying, sing, sing to the Lord, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes at our Tuesday “Lunch With the Psalms” meetings, one of us will ask, “Didn’t we just have this one…really recently?” I think about young people over the centuries who have studied the Hebrew Scriptures, part of which was memorizing the psalms, getting tripped up by the similarities, especially in the last five (146-150) which all start with Praise the Lord! with the possible exception of 149 that in most translations we’re told to sing to the Lord!

Wanting a fresh image or two from the psalm of the day to remind me of the fact that we are still in the joyful season of Christmas, I turned to Nan Merrill’s Psalms For Praying this morning. I smiled at her first words: Praise the Beloved! She follows by calling us to song but cannot begin without reminding us of the responsibility of offering the gift of praise to the one who guides us in every moment. Her translation of this psalm is lovely; why not sing the whole thing with full voice?

Praise the Beloved! Sing a joy-filled song praising the Blessed One among the people! Be glad in the Creator, rejoice in Love Divine. Praise the Holy One with dancing, with melodies and voice! For the Beloved dwells within, journeying with us through all our lives, leading us in truth and love. The humble are adorned with honor; the faithful exult in glory, singing for joy with thankful hearts! With truth on our tongues, with gratitude as our friend, we are in harmony with the universe, as we hold hands with all the people. The chains of oppression are broken, the fetters of injustice unbound. The realm of Peace and Love shall reign! Glory abides with those who are faith-filled. Praise the Beloved! All peoples on earth, welcome Love’s Companioning Presence into your hearts!

 

 

 

 

 

With Full Voice

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A Song Welcoming the Holy One, communication, Creator, Earth, holy name, liturgy, living God, Lynn Bauman, power, praise, psalm 96, psalms, singing, splendor, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe, wonders

The suggestion of a commentary on Psalm 96, subtitled by author Lynn Bauman A Song Welcoming the Holy One, is that readers experiment with singing rather than saying it because singing is a “vehicle for communication with God.” While this is the rightful presentation of psalms in liturgy, I don’t often think of it as a mode of private prayer. I just tried it – in the privacy of my own room, of course – and the result was less than stellar. I have to admit, however, that I didn’t prepare; I just sang it “cold” without thought of the meaning, phrasing, timing or cadence. (Hmmm…that sounds as if I have some idea of musicality. Don’t be fooled!) My attempt was quite timid, but I must say it had the potential to open the words to me in a more vibrant way than if I had spoken the text. Perhaps I’ll give it another try. Should you be moved to join me from afar, here are the words I was tentatively offering as morning praise to the Creator of the universe.

Come, sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew. And bless God’s holy name in praise, for day to day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does. For you can never add the holy One to any list of gods who are but idols made, projections of our thoughts and needs, creations of our hands. For it is the living God we know and praise who made us all and put in place the canopy of stars and space and filled the earth. O, the beauty of your presence, God! O, the splendor and the power in which you dwell! 

The Great Commandment

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God, Hebrew, Jesus, Lord, love, love your neighbor as yourself, Mark, one, psalms, The Shema, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Torah

Today’s gospel (MK 12: 28-34) is always a reminder to me of the rootedness of Christianity, that our heritage is the same ancestry as that of Jesus, stretching back thousands of years. I am always moved when I think of Jesus growing up reading/chanting the same psalms that I do and there is something perhaps even more visceral about his answer today to the scribe who asked him to name the first of all commandments. I envision Jesus standing up straight, sun as back-lighting, raising his voice to respond: Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Ehad. (Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.) I read a commentary recently that said, “The Shema does not have to be recited in Hebrew. It may be recited in any language the worshipper understands but the miracle of the Hebrew letters makes the prayer much more powerful in Hebrew even if you don’t understand the words.” I have found that to be true (as I’m sure some Christians find with some Latin hymns from our youth or others find in Sanskrit chants). I first learned a chant of the Shema some years ago in a Wisdom School session and continue to find in it a feeling of strength and identity that transcends the boundaries of religion. The meaning of the words is imprinted in me in a place deeper than my mind and calls me to an expansiveness that can only come from the heart.

We know the text that Jesus was quoting from the Torah. I will take it with me as companion today, my prayer being for a greater consciousness of unity across the world.

Hear, O Israel! the Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

 

 

 

 

 

Time Passages

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bounty of the Lord, courage, Easter, Easter Triduum, light, music, prayer, psalm 27, psalms, reflection, refuge, ritual, salvation, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time out of time, wait

Ten days ago I was on my way to California for a few days of family visiting and then a three-day meeting. Because of the three-hour time difference and uncertainty about my activities, I announced a brief “hiatus” for my blog. I had no idea it would last this long! Three days ago I was looking out on beautiful sunshine lighting up bougainvillea and rose bushes with temperatures of 75 degrees (F) and just now it has started to snow again here in New York! The days away seemed endless as I was stricken with what turned out to be quite a virulent virus that curtailed all but totally necessary activities. Even today I struggle with a lethargy that makes me wonder if I’ll ever be back to “normal” – whatever that means.

As I write that, I remember my thoughts as I drove home from the Easter Vigil – the conclusion of a very meaningful Triduum of services moving me to a deeper desire for continued transformation in my life. I had been so moved by those three ritual days: the prayer, the music, the silence and reflection on the events that constitute the most solemn days of our faith. I was ready, I thought, to keep that flame burning brightly, reminding myself each day of what I had experienced and living into life more consciously. Today I feel as if that experience was eons ago and I marvel at how quickly and easily circumstances can swallow up momentum and make it hard even to get out of bed in the morning.

I always have a sense of “time out of time” when I travel across the country. The view from 35,000 feet up in the sky is so amazing and sobering all at once and flying through time zones gives a sense of the relative nature of our constructs. These ten days of goings and comings, of observing and working at participation, of sensing my body as in need of more care than usual…have been eye-opening, to say the least.

What conclusion can I make from all this? I am grateful for the years of reciting the psalms in prayer as I always find something to hold onto in them. This morning it is Psalm 27 that serves that purpose:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple. I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.

 

 

 

 

Taste and See

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blessed, Christian, Eucharist, goodness, hymns, James Moore, look to God, Lord, praise, psalm 34, psalms, refuge, Taste and See, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It seems that in many of the Christian denominations the most often referenced source for hymns is the psalms. That seems logical because the psalms are always to be sung when they appear in worship services, at least in Roman Catholic liturgy. I have been sitting here for nearly a half hour now, surfing the internet for a good rendition of the song Taste and See by James Moore, based on Psalm 34. I have not been satisfied with anything I have heard although the tune and words are quite adequately represented by each example. I have come to the conclusion that it our heart-filled prayer in the singing of the hymn (myself with a congregation) that moves me so much every time – especially if it is sung during the procession to receive. I would still recommend a visit to YouTube but, since it all began with my reading of the psalm this morning, I will post those words that are, in themselves, a prayer full of trust.

Refrain [R]: Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. [R] Glorify the Lord with me. Let us together extol God’s name. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. [R] Look to God that you may be radiant with joy and your faces may not blush with shame. When the afflicted ones cried out, the Lord heard, and from all their distress God saved them. [R] The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed is the one who takes refuge in God. [R]

Morning Song

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Christ, God, heart, prayer, psalm, psalms, shade, sun, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

It is the psalm that calls to me again this morning – the alternate translation oozing devotion. I reproduce it here in paragraph form as a prayer for the day.

O how I love you, God, your presence is my home, my high abode. I go to be with you, my longing draws me there…Anyone who lives near you is filled with higher purpose, and fuller joy. What else is there to do but go on praising you?… Lord God of everything that is, God of my heart, listen to this humble prayer. Defend me now by simply looking at my face. Your look will be for me a healing oil that covers all…O God, you are for us the shining sun, the shielding shade, and both become the fullness of your grace and glory. And as we seek you on this pathway, we are found by good and nothing lasting is withheld from all who walk with deep integrity of life, for they shall come to trust and find in you eternal rest. And there, O God, all life is drenched with happiness and joy.   (Ps. 84:1,3,7,10-11)

May we seek and come to trust this God, our sun and shade, and thereby find our peace and joy.