Day Forty-Two -- Even the sparrow has found a home. . .
Psalm 70 to Psalm 89
I have to admit that I am struggling to stay engaged in the reading of the psalms. It feels a bit like an overload of emotions. It is similar to my experience of reading poetry. While I enjoy reading it and being challenged by the images and word choices, I've never been able to sit down and read straight through an entire collection. A little bit goes a long way, and if any of it is to leave much of a lasting impression then I have to set it down and walk away from it for awhile. This Bible Challenge, however, is meant to get me through it, not to linger on it; and so I will press on.
I will say that one of the delights to be found in today's reading is Psalm 84. When I came upon it I felt as if I had reached an oasis in the desert. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." The psalm is one that is quite familiar to me, not only from reading it in the daily office of Evening Prayer (it next comes up for use on July 29th), but in the variety of ways it has been set to music, from Johannes Brahms to the Maranatha Singers. When I was on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the third verse of the psalm came to me as I saw birds building nests in the spaces between the huge stone blocks of the walls: "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young -- a place near your altar." Click on the above links to Brahms or the Maranatha Singers and enjoy a break from all of your reading. If they don't work you can copy the links below and paste them in your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzRjljiPON8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsrD7muZfYM&feature=related
I have to admit that I am struggling to stay engaged in the reading of the psalms. It feels a bit like an overload of emotions. It is similar to my experience of reading poetry. While I enjoy reading it and being challenged by the images and word choices, I've never been able to sit down and read straight through an entire collection. A little bit goes a long way, and if any of it is to leave much of a lasting impression then I have to set it down and walk away from it for awhile. This Bible Challenge, however, is meant to get me through it, not to linger on it; and so I will press on.
I will say that one of the delights to be found in today's reading is Psalm 84. When I came upon it I felt as if I had reached an oasis in the desert. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." The psalm is one that is quite familiar to me, not only from reading it in the daily office of Evening Prayer (it next comes up for use on July 29th), but in the variety of ways it has been set to music, from Johannes Brahms to the Maranatha Singers. When I was on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the third verse of the psalm came to me as I saw birds building nests in the spaces between the huge stone blocks of the walls: "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young -- a place near your altar." Click on the above links to Brahms or the Maranatha Singers and enjoy a break from all of your reading. If they don't work you can copy the links below and paste them in your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzRjljiPON8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsrD7muZfYM&feature=related
That verse also stood out for me. A very deep longing is expressed. Church attendance would certainly be on the increase if people felt this way.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, reading the psalms through like a narrative without time for reflection is tough. But one can ascertain some common themes.
JoAnn Koskol
One theme that comes to mind is the recounting of how God has acted in the lives of the Israelites. This recounting is to be continued from generation to generation. For Christians, we recount the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ in the anamesis of the Eucharistic prayer. JoAnn Koskol
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