The Lord is God, and has given us light.
—Psalm 118.27a
From a lectionary reading for Palm Sunday: Psalm 118.1-2, 19-29
Reflection for Monday, March 26 (Day 29 of Lent)
As if to confirm God’s penchant for revelation that we reflected on yesterday, Psalm 118 sings of light that comes as a blessing and gift from God. Light, the psalmist tells us, is one of the ways that God provides and cares for God’s people.
The last of the psalms that comprise what’s known as the Hallel (Hebrew for “praise”), Psalm 118 is part of the song of praise offered during festival times. Encompassing Psalms 113-118, the song is sometimes called the Egyptian Hallel and is a joyous telling of what God has done in the life of the people of Israel: how God has provided for them, what God has given to them, what God has brought to pass through them. During the festival of Passover, the first part of the Hallel (Psalms 113 and 114) is sung before the Passover meal, and the second part is sung following the meal (Psalms 115-118). It’s likely that it was the song that Jesus and the disciples sang as they left the Last Supper. What hope it must have given them, as they went into the night, to sing of the God who does not let darkness have the final word.
In John O’Donohue’s book Anam Cara, he writes, “If you had never been to the world and never known what a day was, you couldn’t possibly imagine how the darkness breaks, how the mystery and color of a new day arrive. Light is incredibly generous.” The psalmist knows the gift of light and does not take it for granted. How about you? At this place in your Lenten journey, how do the words of this song find a home in you? What light has God given to you as blessing and gift?
Blessing of Light
Let us bless the light
and the One who gives
the light to us.
Let us open ourselves
to the illumination
it offers.
Let us blaze
with its
generous fire.
—Jan Richardson
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March 27, 2012 at 5:41 PM |
Thank you for the reminder of the psalms mostly likely sung by Jesus and his companions as they made their way to Gesthemane. In looking at the verses from Psalm 118 with post-resurrection eyes, I see Christ the Gate, the Savior, the Cornerstone, the Light, the Steadfast, the Good, the Love. What could he have been thinking and feeling as the ancient words were being made manifest, incarnate, as they made their way?
March 27, 2012 at 10:16 PM |
Beautiful. Thank you, Lisa!