Proper 6
Worship
Aids To The Psalms
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you,
O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the
house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?"
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?"
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Alternate Image
The Singer stands in front of an open refrigerator. She hungers for something. She examines food, but none seems right to full the void in her. Her eyes rest on bread and wine; ah communion, that is what I hunger for. The Singer wanders into the study and searches for a book. Schopenhauer or Barth; no, too heavy. Erma Bombeck or Captain Marvel; no, too light. Gibran or McKuen; no, too sweet. Asimov or Heinlein; no, too weird. Time magazine or the daily newspaper; no, too much. Her eye comes to rest on the Bible; ah Scripture, just right. The next morning the Singer rises and leaves her house. Where should she go? The mall; no, too expensive. The museum; no, too old and dull. The fair; no, too noisy and hot. The beach; no, too sweaty and too sandy. Her eye catches a steeple high above; the church, just the place. She enters the sanctuary and is greeted by kinfolk of Christ. In the bulletin she reads that there will be communion served that day after an interesting sounding sermon, and there is a coffee hour following. Too perfect!
Reflection
How we run around trying to fill the holes in our lives with the insubstantial. We eat to try and fill an inner hunger that can not be satisfied. We search for mental satisfaction in game shows and repartee about others' athletic exploits and wonder why we are bored. We seek to end our loneliness by engaging in frivolous activities with others who don't know who they are or where they are going, just are very noisy getting there. The church is God's gift to us. It is filled with meaning, fellowship and nurture that we gain by sharing ourselves wholly. It is a place to praise God.
O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?"
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the
house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?"
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?"
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.
Alternate Image
The Singer stands in front of an open refrigerator. She hungers for something. She examines food, but none seems right to full the void in her. Her eyes rest on bread and wine; ah communion, that is what I hunger for. The Singer wanders into the study and searches for a book. Schopenhauer or Barth; no, too heavy. Erma Bombeck or Captain Marvel; no, too light. Gibran or McKuen; no, too sweet. Asimov or Heinlein; no, too weird. Time magazine or the daily newspaper; no, too much. Her eye comes to rest on the Bible; ah Scripture, just right. The next morning the Singer rises and leaves her house. Where should she go? The mall; no, too expensive. The museum; no, too old and dull. The fair; no, too noisy and hot. The beach; no, too sweaty and too sandy. Her eye catches a steeple high above; the church, just the place. She enters the sanctuary and is greeted by kinfolk of Christ. In the bulletin she reads that there will be communion served that day after an interesting sounding sermon, and there is a coffee hour following. Too perfect!
Reflection
How we run around trying to fill the holes in our lives with the insubstantial. We eat to try and fill an inner hunger that can not be satisfied. We search for mental satisfaction in game shows and repartee about others' athletic exploits and wonder why we are bored. We seek to end our loneliness by engaging in frivolous activities with others who don't know who they are or where they are going, just are very noisy getting there. The church is God's gift to us. It is filled with meaning, fellowship and nurture that we gain by sharing ourselves wholly. It is a place to praise God.
