Psalm Meditation 1016
Second Sunday of Advent
December 8, 2019

Psalm 131
1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time on and forevermore.
(NRSV)

There is something healing about being drawn into someone’s core, whether it be a lap or not. That area is so vital, filled with life giving and life sustaining organs, that to be allowed in is the height of vulnerability from the comforter. To be trusted within the center of another’s being is a display of love, and comfort, which is at once deeply calming and highly vulnerable for the one being held. It is a wonder—filled feeling for both

Imagine yourself that calm and quiet in the presence of God. In some ways, the two images are the same. To be cuddled, cradled, and calmed is to be in the presence of God. To be conscious of the comfort of a flesh and blood person as well as the presence of God is the peace the psalmist is communicating in this psalm.

From the position of a comforted soul in the presence of God, the psalmist invites each of us to the hope that rises from this level of trust and vulnerability. There is no demand or request from God on the part of the psalmist, simply pleasure in the healing presence of God.

December 2, 2019
LCM