Bible Study - June 19th
June 19th - Psalm 86:1-6
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day long. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I left up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Give, ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication.
“Speed Bumps”
Especially in our modern world we have come to think of life as being measured by a straight line. We are born, we grow up, we graduate, we get a job, we marry, we have children, we grow older, retire, and then we die at some point. It’s all a rather logical progression. It’s kind of like board game. You shake the dice and make another move. Hopefully, you go forward not backward. We even think of modern history in much the same way. Human life, despite all its disruptions, appears to be a matter of progress from more primitive to more advanced civilization. And lately, the rate of change seems to have really picked up speed. The pace of life, if you haven’t noticed, is accelerating. Or, so it seems. People drive faster and faster. Accidents occur more frequently. And now, people are putting speed bumps in parking lots just to slow things down and prevent collisions!
Author Ray Waddle, in his book about the Psalms (A Turbulent Peace), tells about being in the Smoky Mountains where he came upon a labyrinth. Labyrinths were very popular in medieval times. More recently, they are coming back. Why? Perhaps, along with the increased interest in prayer and meditation, they provide an opportunity to slow down. Walking a labyrinth is a different kind of experience because it is not a process that follows a straight line. Instead, it kind of meanders around as you weave in and out until eventually you come to the center. Then, the whole process is reversed and pretty soon you are right back where you started. What’s the point? Well, in one way it is a kind of metaphor for prayer. You start on the outside and work your way inside – to find the soul, as it were. Isn’t that they way it works?
Nowadays as we think about our earthy life we primarily think of the outward journey – the straight line part but we often neglect the inner journey – the journey to God. As Protestants, our path to God has especially been equated with our outer life to the neglect of the inner. On the other hand, the labyrinth calls us to set aside our present concerns and to quietly travel inward to the center of our existence – to God.
Think about how quite often we become frustrated when things don’t go well in our outer life. We get sick, or things go wrong, and our plans are derailed and life seems to be a mess and we wonder, “What happened to that straight line path we were on?” Or, is it that we have hit one life’s “speed bumps?” Suddenly, our life, which had appeared to be so successful and important, is revealed to us as being more like a hard outer shell with a big hollow space on the inside. And we are left wondering if life’s misfortunes aren’t just another way of telling us to “slow down” and take a different path.
What is the right path in life? Psalm 86 asks God, “Teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.” It’s something to think about. What path are you on? Why not take a moment and think about all the twists and turns in your life and how sometimes it seems more like a labyrinth than a straight line. Maybe for some of us it’s supposed to be that way. Maybe the real journey in life is getting to know God and ourselves which is more like a labyrinth than a straight line - a mysterious inner journey toward finding God.
Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day long. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I left up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Give, ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my cry of supplication.
“Speed Bumps”
Especially in our modern world we have come to think of life as being measured by a straight line. We are born, we grow up, we graduate, we get a job, we marry, we have children, we grow older, retire, and then we die at some point. It’s all a rather logical progression. It’s kind of like board game. You shake the dice and make another move. Hopefully, you go forward not backward. We even think of modern history in much the same way. Human life, despite all its disruptions, appears to be a matter of progress from more primitive to more advanced civilization. And lately, the rate of change seems to have really picked up speed. The pace of life, if you haven’t noticed, is accelerating. Or, so it seems. People drive faster and faster. Accidents occur more frequently. And now, people are putting speed bumps in parking lots just to slow things down and prevent collisions!
Author Ray Waddle, in his book about the Psalms (A Turbulent Peace), tells about being in the Smoky Mountains where he came upon a labyrinth. Labyrinths were very popular in medieval times. More recently, they are coming back. Why? Perhaps, along with the increased interest in prayer and meditation, they provide an opportunity to slow down. Walking a labyrinth is a different kind of experience because it is not a process that follows a straight line. Instead, it kind of meanders around as you weave in and out until eventually you come to the center. Then, the whole process is reversed and pretty soon you are right back where you started. What’s the point? Well, in one way it is a kind of metaphor for prayer. You start on the outside and work your way inside – to find the soul, as it were. Isn’t that they way it works?
Nowadays as we think about our earthy life we primarily think of the outward journey – the straight line part but we often neglect the inner journey – the journey to God. As Protestants, our path to God has especially been equated with our outer life to the neglect of the inner. On the other hand, the labyrinth calls us to set aside our present concerns and to quietly travel inward to the center of our existence – to God.
Think about how quite often we become frustrated when things don’t go well in our outer life. We get sick, or things go wrong, and our plans are derailed and life seems to be a mess and we wonder, “What happened to that straight line path we were on?” Or, is it that we have hit one life’s “speed bumps?” Suddenly, our life, which had appeared to be so successful and important, is revealed to us as being more like a hard outer shell with a big hollow space on the inside. And we are left wondering if life’s misfortunes aren’t just another way of telling us to “slow down” and take a different path.
What is the right path in life? Psalm 86 asks God, “Teach me your way, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name.” It’s something to think about. What path are you on? Why not take a moment and think about all the twists and turns in your life and how sometimes it seems more like a labyrinth than a straight line. Maybe for some of us it’s supposed to be that way. Maybe the real journey in life is getting to know God and ourselves which is more like a labyrinth than a straight line - a mysterious inner journey toward finding God.
posted by Anonymous at 11:56 AM
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