Aug 5 Thought for Reflection
Thursday, August 6th, 2009Dear Holy Covenant Community,
This Sunday in worship, we will explore Psalm 130 as we examine the theme “Faith in the Face of Suffering”. Psalms are hymns that the ancient Hebrews sang and recited to worship God. With prayerful lips and open hearts, the early church, too, incorporated the words of the Psalms into their acts of worship. And Christians today continue to meditate upon the Psalms to draw us nearer to God.
I turn to the Psalms, over and over again, in my personal devotion and study. In fact, it’s probably the book of the Bible I retreat to most often. Why do the Psalms have such a hold on the human imagination? Perhaps it’s precisely because they are so very human, real, and raw. Psalms sing words to our emotions that we can’t always express on our own. When we read the Psalms, we are joining voices that for centuries have felt the very same things we have and are not afraid to express them out loud to God. The Psalmists get angry with God and say: why have you left us alone? They chastise God for being absent, for not listening, for siding with the enemies. Jesus himself quotes a Psalm on the cross, saying to God: Why have you forsaken me? Psalm 130 begins with cries from the very depths of a troubled soul.
Too often, we think we have to hide our dark and difficult thoughts from God. But the Psalms offer us an alternative; they give us permission to be honest with God, through the words of holy and ancient scripture, and know that we are not alone in our feelings. And though many Psalms begin with human despair, they end with the hope and promise of God’s presence. Because when we are willing to offer our pain to God in prayer, collectively with an ancient and present community, we will find God’s powerful presence among us.
I encourage you to read and pray Psalm 130 during the week to prepare for worship. Pay attention to the emotions that wash over you, as you give yourself permission to cry out to God, from your very depths, and find hope that God is listening.
Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O Lord, could mark iniquities, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness from you, so that you may be revered.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in the Lord’s word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with the Lord is great power to redeem.
It is God who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Grace and Peace,
Kate
