A Winding Road

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comfort, God, God acts, God speaks, God's voice, Joyce Rupp, praise, pray, psalm 16, Stephen Mitchell, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Feeling a need for inspiration I pulled out the book, Prayer Seeds, by Joyce Rupp this morning. I wanted to hear and see something that would speak of hope or certainty to some deep place in my heart with the hope that it would do the same for others. I read a lot of Sister Joyce’s prayers, all lovely and appropriate for many occasions or seasons. This is, however, a season that we might call “out-of-time” so I needed to look further. At the top of page 167, there was a quote from Stephen Mitchell’s translation of selected psalms. It read:

Unnamable God, I feel you with me at every moment. You are my food, my drink, my sunlight and the air I breathe. (Psalm 16)

This could have been enough, I suppose, but then I thought, “What about people who are not feeling God at every moment these days?” so I found a selection of Mitchell’s psalm translations at another place on the internet. I feel a need to write two of them here as sort of a stream of consciousness: in on-going sentences rather than the traditional psalmody form, as if the speaker were walking a path while thinking/speaking. I don’t know why that seems important but I hope Stephen Mitchell would forgive this diversion from his work. It is my best offering for today.

God acts within every moment and creates the world with each breath. God speaks from the center of the universe, in the silence beyond all thought. Mightier than the crash of a thunderstorm, mightier than the roar of the sea, is God’s voice silently speaking in the depths of a listening heart. (Psalm 93)

Even in the midst of great pain, Lord, I praise you for that which is. I will not refuse this grief or close myself to this anguish. Let shallow people pray for ease: “Comfort us; shield us from sorrow.” I pray for whatever you send me, and I ask to receive it as your gift. You have put a joy in my heart greater than all the world’s riches. I lie down trusting the darkness, for I know that even now you are here. (Psalm 4)

A New Look

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Good Shepherd, guidance, inner pilgrimage, journey, Lynn Bauman, Psalm 23, Scripture, Stephen Mitchell, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

When we are very familiar with something, be it a place we inhabit or a text from Scripture, we can slide over the experience with only half a mind and miss the significance. Take Psalm 23, the great Shepherd Psalm, for example. Many of us fall back on that text when asked to recite something from Scripture because it is the one that jumps most easily to our lips, so occasionally it helps when praying to adapt the translation in order to  wake us up to new depth.

I am not a fan of changing words just to be trendy and sometimes updating takes the reverence out of a traditional text for me. Not so with Stephen Mitchell’s interpretation of the Psalms or Lynn Bauman’s translation and commentary (which I use frequently in the morning). Two suggestions in Bauman’s notes gave me pause this morning. You might use them as you reflect on your favorite translation.

1. Imagine that this psalm does not refer to the world outside you, but speaks to an interior space or place within your own being. As you do, mark the shifts in relationship between yourself as a “sheep” needing guidance, and God as shepherd guiding you. Note also the changing landscapes of the soul as you are led through this inner pilgrimage.
2. Which part of this journey holds the most significance and poignancy for you at this moment in time? Meditate on those words throughout the day. Ask yourself…”How do I need the care and guidance of the Shepherd at this time in my life?” (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.55)