Read Psalms
141-143
The three Psalms today all ask
for God to respond in some tactile, tangible way, preferably according
to our timetable. God, You can call,
text, direct message, or email me; I am okay with neon signs or a cloud-shaped
message sailing across the sky. How does
God get a word in edgewise, especially in a world where there are so many
voices clamoring for your attention? How
does God respond amid the cacophony, in a world that sounds like a toddler
banging on pots and pans, and leaders who join in making more noise and
belittling others?
Throughout Scripture, God walks
in the garden seeking out Adam and Eve ~ God sings through creation. God shows Noah a rainbow and then Abraham and
Sarah the stars. God wrestles with Jacob
and dances in Joseph’s dreams. God
whispers in a still, small voice to Elijah and then sends a chariot to carry
him away. God works with steadfast love
through Ruth’s care for her mother-in-law, Naomi, and God gives Esther courage
to raise her voice. God evokes Isaiah to
dream of a peaceable realm, Amos to splash in a stream of justice, and Micah to
call us to be about God’s justice, showing loving kindness, and walking humbly
with God. That is only a quick survey of
a few passages. In book after book of the Bible, we hear testimony of how the
writers are experiencing God.
Pause and recall some of the
images you have noticed and noted in the Psalms. What image stays with you, besides the whole
smashing a head against a rock yesterday, although I get that is
hard to shake. What image of God warms
your heart? What image of God do you
resist or even reject? What image of God
does your sacred imagination create, because you have a psalm in your
soul? (More on that last question next
week). As we begin to wind down and wrap
up this Psalm summer project, don’t race to the finish line; stroll and savor
what this experience has meant to you and how this experience has left an
imprint on your head, heart, soul, and life in these days. Amen.
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