Psalm Meditation 1034
Easter
April 12, 2020

Psalm 134
1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.
(NRSV)

As I read this these days, my thoughts go to the essential workers in our lives. It seems that those of us who are deemed essential would rather be home, safe and isolated from the folks they feel bound to help. Their personal health and safety is important to them, as is the drive and desire to provide the service to which they have been called.

I imagine that those who stayed in the Temple at night were considered essential workers by those who knew they were there, doing the work that was theirs to do that night. I can also imagine that many did not know that there were people who stayed awake all night to serve the community in the quiet of the night. The psalmist knew they were there and reminded them to take their work seriously by focusing on God as their primary task, and their temple work as another way of focusing on God through service.

Are you an essential worker who would rather be safe at home? Thank you. Wherever you serve, make it a part of your service to focus on the presence of God as you serve the people around you. Those of us who are being served by essential workers do well to thank them at every opportunity. Take their risk seriously, including by staying home if you can and going out only if you must. If we each focus on God we will find a wholesome way through this. “May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.”

April 6, 2020
LCM