Daily Readings for Tuesday, March 15, 2011
- Morning Psalms 34; 146
- First Reading Deuteronomy 9:(1-3) 4-12
- Second Reading Hebrews 3:1-11
- Gospel John 2:13-22
- Evening Psalms 25; 91
Morning Psalm 34
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
This Psalm begins with an impossible ideal. To bless the Lord at all times and to continually have praises in ones mouth is a nice thought, but a really difficult reality. What does it mean to bless God at all times? Can God be blessed with all of our activity -- even the mundane and the day-to-day? I certainly believe that God can be found in the ordinary, everyday stuff of life. (Like Carrie Newcomer sings in the song "Holy As the Day is Spent" - "holy is the familiar room and quiet moments in the afternoon and folding sheets like folding hands to pray as only laundry can.") God most certainly is present in the ordinariness of our daily lives. But how do we bring God into all that we do. (In other words, does God really care about March Madness and who your Final Four picks are?)
I don't know if there is a way to bring God into March Madness. I don't know if God even cares about basketball or not. But I do believe that for us to recognize God in every part of our life there needs to be something internal within us that seeks God. I don't know if I can always have God's praise in my mouth (because sometimes I need to be frustrated or sad or angry - those are all part of the human emotions I have). But I do know that I can teach myself (maybe my heart?) to always be seeking God. And then it becomes less about bringing God into any given situation and more about recognizing the God who is already present.
As I look at my lengthy "to do" list today, I see things like "staff meeting" and "deacon's meeting." I have tasks like: stock sale prep, finish april 3/april 17 bulletin, go to post office and fill out vouchers. Some of those tasks it will be easy to see God already at work, others I will need to make an effort (like finding God in paperwork). One way to do this is, as the Psalmist said, praise the Lord always.
Verse 3 invites others to join in the Psalmist praise. "Let us exalt his name together." For me, there is something valuable about community, about belonging and about struggling together. I think it is easier to see God at work when the work is done together. One of my favorite Kathleen Norris quotes (from Dakota, I think), goes something like this: "I'd rather attempt something together and have it turn out completely wrong that I would to do something alone and have it turn out exactly right." There is something about being in it together that yields different results. And I believe better results because the point isn't always about our work turning out exactly right, it's about exalting the name of God along the way. And by doing that, I believe that we, together, allow our lives to give priases to God.
Maybe not as continuously as the Psalmist exorts us to. But if done together, I'll take it.
Dear God - Help me to seek you in all that I do, but especially in the communities and groups that I am blessed to be a part of today.
Amen.
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
This Psalm begins with an impossible ideal. To bless the Lord at all times and to continually have praises in ones mouth is a nice thought, but a really difficult reality. What does it mean to bless God at all times? Can God be blessed with all of our activity -- even the mundane and the day-to-day? I certainly believe that God can be found in the ordinary, everyday stuff of life. (Like Carrie Newcomer sings in the song "Holy As the Day is Spent" - "holy is the familiar room and quiet moments in the afternoon and folding sheets like folding hands to pray as only laundry can.") God most certainly is present in the ordinariness of our daily lives. But how do we bring God into all that we do. (In other words, does God really care about March Madness and who your Final Four picks are?)
I don't know if there is a way to bring God into March Madness. I don't know if God even cares about basketball or not. But I do believe that for us to recognize God in every part of our life there needs to be something internal within us that seeks God. I don't know if I can always have God's praise in my mouth (because sometimes I need to be frustrated or sad or angry - those are all part of the human emotions I have). But I do know that I can teach myself (maybe my heart?) to always be seeking God. And then it becomes less about bringing God into any given situation and more about recognizing the God who is already present.
As I look at my lengthy "to do" list today, I see things like "staff meeting" and "deacon's meeting." I have tasks like: stock sale prep, finish april 3/april 17 bulletin, go to post office and fill out vouchers. Some of those tasks it will be easy to see God already at work, others I will need to make an effort (like finding God in paperwork). One way to do this is, as the Psalmist said, praise the Lord always.
Verse 3 invites others to join in the Psalmist praise. "Let us exalt his name together." For me, there is something valuable about community, about belonging and about struggling together. I think it is easier to see God at work when the work is done together. One of my favorite Kathleen Norris quotes (from Dakota, I think), goes something like this: "I'd rather attempt something together and have it turn out completely wrong that I would to do something alone and have it turn out exactly right." There is something about being in it together that yields different results. And I believe better results because the point isn't always about our work turning out exactly right, it's about exalting the name of God along the way. And by doing that, I believe that we, together, allow our lives to give priases to God.
Maybe not as continuously as the Psalmist exorts us to. But if done together, I'll take it.
Dear God - Help me to seek you in all that I do, but especially in the communities and groups that I am blessed to be a part of today.
Amen.
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