Lent
March 20, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
   my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
   beholding your power and glory.Because your steadfast love is better than life,
   my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
   I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
   and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
   and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
   and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
   your right hand upholds me.

This is my Psalm although I am happy to share it with others. I am sure I had read it before I entered spiritual direction training, but I discovered the depth of its spirit in that context. I find it especially comforting in these days of divisiveness, violence, and hate. It is easy to grow weary in such an environment. Spending quality time with God is always important. Renewing faith in love is crucial. This scripture helps me in both.

I found it interesting that the developers of the Lectionary I use chose only to use the first eight verses as do I for meditation. The last three lines are full of vengeance toward enemies. I guess I have grown weary of that also. The Psalmist though may have stumbled on to something that is helpful. It is a lot better to rant and rave to God when we feel a need to wish others ill will. If we get it out of our system before God, the path is paved for us to deal with others in the ways of God. Another of my Psalms is 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Our recognition of the trash in our hearts is the first step toward gaining that right spirit.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for listening to me sputter and spout about the actions of others over which I have no control. Help me to realize that I may not be seeing the full picture, that I never know another’s full situation and they do not know mine. Make us one in love, O Lord, make us one. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.