Week four of Ordinary time

by Miranda Craig

Psalm 84

The Joy of Worship in the Temple

To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

How lovely is your dwelling place,

    O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs, indeed it faints

    for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh sing for joy

    to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,

    and the swallow a nest for herself,

    where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

    my King and my God.

Happy are those who live in your house,

    ever singing your praise.Selah

Happy are those whose strength is in you,

    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[a]

As they go through the valley of Baca

    they make it a place of springs;

    the early rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength;

    the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

    give ear, O God of Jacob!Selah

Behold our shield, O God;

    look on the face of your anointed.

For a day in your courts is better

    than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than live in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

    he bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does the Lord withhold

    from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts,

    happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Peace to you, friends, as we enter this fourth week of Ordinary Time. 

This week our meditation is centered on the words of Psalm 84. As a little girl I always thought that the psalm was about the coming kingdom of heaven. I longed for some day far in the future when I would finally arrive in the presence of God, the place where the birds rest and the people congregate to worship. This year, for the first time, I heard Psalm 84 framed as an ancient song about going to the temple in Jerusalem, journeying to a physical location deep in the past to encounter God. Only recently have the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel in The Sabbath led me to think about Psalm 84 as it relates to the day of rest. Heschel calls the Sabbath a “palace in time” and writes, 

For where can the likeness of God be found? There is no quality that space has in common with the essence of God. There is not enough freedom on top of the mountain; there is not enough glory in the silence of the sea. Yet the likeness of God can be found in time, which is eternity in disguise.

I love the idea that the Sabbath is a palace in time, a day where God can be found. The beauty of God showing up to us in the Sabbath feels remarkable in a world marked by disparities. In a time and place when food, shelter, healthcare, education, wealth and justice are available to some and not to others, the presence of God comes to all of us on the Sabbath day. We cannot escape time and so we are all drawn into the glory of the Sabbath. The joy of God’s presence is not only for those with the wealth to travel to some distant holy place, but instead envelops all, welcoming us into rest and worship.

Lyrics:

How lovely is Your dwelling place,

Your home, oh Lord of all.

My soul, it longs to see Your face, 

To live within your halls.

Each creature finds a place to rest,

A home beneath Your wings.

The swallow builds herself a nest,

The sparrow praises sings.

Refrain:

Happy are those who dwell in Your house, 

Who come before Your throne. 

Happy are those who sing Your praise, 

Who trust in You alone.

Your pilgrims know the path to You;

Their hearts recall the way. 

Their path springs up, the ground renewed

With water for each day. 

A day with You is better still

Than a thousand anywhere.

Lord, let us reach Your holy hill;

Please listen to our prayer. 

Visual Meditation: 

by Sayde Laine