Psalm Meditation 1030
Third Sunday in Lent
March 15, 2020

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)

It is interesting to walk into a place a worship, to get an idea of what is important to this particular group of worshipers. In many of those spaces the people who worship there may have gotten so used to the space that they no longer notice what it is that makes it unique and holy. If something is moved or taken away those same people will be able to tell that something is different. While the actual details may have faded to the background of consciousness there is something important about the way everything fits together that makes a particular space a place for God to dwell.

The psalmist points out the nesting birds that feel as much at home in the sanctuary as the people who come in to worship. To be able to look around and see that some of God’s creatures have taken up residence in the house of God can be a source of comfort to worshipers. If birds can feel the hospitality of God in this house I can too. While we might not see that as comforting, the psalmist does. The psalmist is so awed by the building and the activities of the worship space that having a simple job like doorkeeper would be a joy filled task.

Not every worship space is going to touch each one of us with the awe the psalmist feels in the Temple. There is a place for each of us that will make us feel as if we are home. The architecture, the décor, the intangible something that makes a house a home will take hold of our hearts and make us feel a sense of holiness and contentment. In that space we will feel the presence of God. “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. 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. O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.”


March 9, 2020
LCM