As I come to scripture this week, it seems there can be no better words for us at Hope Lutheran. Our farewell worship on Sunday morning lived the thrust of this psalm: our tears of good-bye and loss might be turned into a harvest of joy as it is so named in my Harper Collins Study Bible. Our worship held this complexity of emotion. As in Isaiah, with this Psalm, we are steeped in the lush imagery of watercourses and desert growth. What will Hope harvest in the years to come? I hope it is a faithful people.
In Pastor Carl's absence, I have taken over the duties of teaching confirmation. I will stray from the specifics of Psalm 126 now, but not from the issue of learning how to listen to the Bible. When I sit down to think about my objectives for a particular teaching session, I always think in terms in of my agenda. And there are two kinds of teaching agendas: an obvious agenda, like learning the definition of church and exploring one's gifts, and a not-so-apparent latent agenda. In the case of confirmation (and everything I teach in church), my agenda is to teach how to listen to scripture, not just what is in scripture. So on Sunday night, I read 1 Corinthians 12 to the students and I invited them to notice words and phrases that stuck in them just like I've directed adults to listen for Wednesday night Lenten services. This was the funny thing -- before I read, I would say, "Okay, focus because I'm beginning right now..." And in that silent pause before I would begin, I could hear my own heartbeat for all the waiting for God's word. It was amazing. Maybe it seemed profound because it was a room of junior highers. Regardless, that was holy listening. May we bring that kind of spirit to all our devotions and receive the Word of life.
Reflection
- How do you read the Bible?
- What helps you to read scripture and really hear it?
Prayer
God of our consolation, thank you for the words of life that stir our souls brining life to what is stagnant, movement to what is stuck, joy to what is sorrowful, and peace to what is conflicted. Amen
Pastor Amy, Have you checked out the Book of Faith materials? You might like them, encouraging reading of bible, and exploring the ways we do read scripture--Book of Faith people call it the first language of faith. But I like what you say better: "the words of life that stir our souls." Peace.
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