Psalm Meditation 649
Reign of Christ Sunday
November 25, 2012

Psalm 84
1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
4 Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah
5 Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed.
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.
(NRSV)

I have been taught that hospitality is a gift God gives to some people. The rest of us can welcome folks into our houses but folks with the gift of hospitality can welcome folks into their homes. Even the most unwelcome guest can be made to feel at home by those who have the gift of hospitality. God has the gift of hospitality and offers it freely to all who enter God’s presence. Yes, there are those who can short-circuit God’s gift of hospitality and make us feel less than welcome in God’s house, however it is the intent of God that all will feel welcome.

The psalmist has certainly felt the spirit of welcome in the house of God and has seen how other creatures live out their sense of home in God’s presence with nests and families within the Temple. The psalmist notes too that the welcome is so broad that the anticipation of arriving at the Temple can lift the hearts of those making the journey, which in turn lifts the appearance of the whole land.

The welcome that God offers is so thrilling and life altering that the psalmist would rather be on the periphery of God’s presence than be fully included in the worship of any other deity. There is something fulfilling and gratifying about being in the presence of God, a sense of peace and wholeness that comes from being in a relationship built on trust and honor.

November 19, 2012