Meditation for July 5

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Psalm 131

 

"Lord, my heart is not proud;

    nor are my eyes haughty.

I do not busy myself with great matters,

    with things too sublime for me.

Rather, I have stilled my soul,

    hushed it like a weaned child.

Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,

    so is my soul within me.

Israel, hope in the Lord,

    now and forever."

            Psalm 131 (New American Bible)

 

Taking Time to Still My Soul

 

If you are like most Americans, you probably have a lot on your mind, even in the summertime.

 

You are concerned about the other members of your family.  Perhaps one person, in particular, is having challenges with his/her health, or is going through a tough time in some other way.

 

You pick up the newspaper, read a magazine, watch TV or listen to the radio, and you start to think about the misfortunes of those in other parts of the world.  What will happen in Darfur?  Why is there now conflict between Palestinians in Gaza?  Doctors are now terrorists?  Are we Americans going to change our habits enough to really do something about climate change?

 

Even if you are planning a vacation, there are scheduling issues.  When can I/we go?  Oh, I must remember to get that backpacking permit or make that campground reservation!  I need to figure out how far we will drive the first night, and get hotel reservations.  What will we do with the dog?  Who is going to water the flowers for us?  (In my case:  Who is going to celebrate and preach those four Sundays when I am gone?)

 

If you have children, there is that great balancing act.  You are still working, but the kids are out of school, and wanting to do all sorts of fun things (and stay up later at night).  Without the structure of a school schedule (and if no child is old enough to drive yet), the logistics can get interesting.  Every morning you get up and think to yourself, "Who is going where today?  How are we working all of this out?  Oh yeah, I have that important meeting at work today with the people who flew in from out of town!"

 

It's enough to make your head spin.  To borrow a line or two from a play, it's enought to make you shout, "Stop the world!  I want to get off!"

 

What we need is a break in the action.  What we need is a little time to quiet our souls.

 

The writer of Psalm 131 (King David, perhaps?) knew the feeling.  There is that temptation, he says, to busy ourselves with "great matters", to be haughty.  Sometimes we feel like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders.  The Psalmist reminds himself that he needs to still his soul, so that he can be as content as a weaned child on its mother's lap.

 

Here's the other angle:  God knows that our souls need to be quieted, too.  God knows that we need these moments of soul-rest, where we let all the concerns and affairs of the world drop away for a while, and simply sit in the Lord's presence - like a child who sits in its mother's lap.

 

Where will you find that soul-rest today?  Can you take a few minutes while you are reading this meditation?  Can you find it in a walk around your neighborhood?  Can you find it in an unhurried conversation with a good friend, where both of you are so unhurried and free that you can even tolerate periods of silence between the two of you?  Will you find it sitting on your front porch or back patio, as you listen to the birds sing, or watch the sunset, or look up and enjoy the stars?  Will you find it on that camping trip - one that you don't overschedule, so that you can stare at the campfire, or take a nap, or sit by the stream without thinking about when you need to get up and get going again?

 

The Psalmist seems to say that proud people get caught up in great matters.  He implies that, in the process, they forget who they are and whose they are, and their soul-health suffers.

 

How can you "let go and let God" today?

 

Think back to your own childhood.  Or observe a child today, during summertime.  The message of summer is this:  Find time to play.  Find time to rest your soul.  God, your Mother, is inviting you to climb up onto her lap, and rest.  May you find ample opportunities to accept her invitation!  It is in this God and this Lord - the One who can give rest to our souls - that we find hope.