Psalms During Lent
During the season of Lent I’ll be taking time to write a short reflection on the Psalms suggested for the evening in the Daily Office Lectionary. I have a love for the Psalms that can’t quite be explained. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they are often heard, but rarely reflected on in sermons. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a tradition in which singing was a vital part of our faith. Maybe it’s because the whole scope of human experience can be found within the 150 chapters of the Psalms. There is something to the Psalter that intrigues and embraces me, and everyday during the season of Lent, I’ll write a reflection on them as we walk this Lenten journey.
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Psalm 65: By Awesome Deeds You Answer Us
This evening’s psalm is one that recalls all the ways in which God provides. Continue reading
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Psalm 138: You Increased my Strength of Soul
The psalm set for this evening’s prayers is a psalm of thanksgiving; it is an individual psalmist who offers her thanks before God for all the ways in which God has been continually present throughout her life. Psalm 138 is… Continue reading
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Psalm 51: You Desire Truth
Throughout the our lives, people of faith pray a variety of prayers; some are big, some are small, some are easy, some are difficult, and some ask things of God or of ourselves that if we fully understood, we wouldn’t… Continue reading
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Psalm 46: Be Still and Know
As I write this, I am sipping dye in wait for a large machine to tell me to be still and to hold my breath while I get yet another CT scan. It’s time, of course. Even though Not Cancer… Continue reading
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Psalm 49: The Fate of the Foolhardy
After last’s night celebration and praise break, this evening’s psalm, Psalm 49 brings us back to face the complexity of the issue of death in the face of power and wealth. In the middle of this psalm is a riddle.… Continue reading
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Psalm 48: The Joy of All the Earth
In the midst of the communal lament that extends past last night’s psalm, today’s psalm gives rise to a break in the lament. It is a pause in a series of laments individual and communal to give a praise break.… Continue reading
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Psalm 44: We Sink Down to the Dust
Having not grown up in a liturgical tradition, I was shocked when I first experienced it at the way the rhythm of liturgy and litany resonates deep within my soul. “Don’t the words feel artificial if they are not from… Continue reading
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Psalm 42: Deep Calls to Deep
One of the best things about the psalms and how they speak to us today is how to lament. A lament holds us in the uncomfortable space of disappointment and frustration, and most Christians aren’t too good at staying in… Continue reading
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Psalm 35: O Lord, do not be silent!
Many times bravery and danger are two sides of the coin. This evening’s psalm is both. Psalm 35 is a desperate plea from someone so excluded that he, in a prayer to God, paints the scenario with war-like imagery. At… Continue reading
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Psalm 37:19-40: Their Steps Do Not Slip
One of the more helpful ways to understand trauma is to acknowledge that experiencing a trauma is not the end of its effect. Those who undergo traumatic events cannot fully process the happening in the moment, and perhaps not even… Continue reading
