Hello friends.
This is Mark Ludman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in dogs.
Welcome.
As we begin today.
I invite you to find yourself in a comfortable position.
And allow your body to fully settle into the moment.
Rest your hands gently in your lap.
Your shoulders relax.
If it's comfortable and safe,
You might close your eyes.
Take a slow,
Gentle breath in.
Slowly breathe out.
And again,
Breathing in.
.
.
And day out.
And as your breathing begins to slow,
Just allow your mind,
Your body and your heart to be fully present here in this space right now.
And as you do,
Become aware that God is already here.
Waiting for you with love.
That's a day.
We begin a new pilgrimage together.
For centuries,
Jewish pilgrims would journey to Jerusalem for the great festivals.
And as they climbed the winding roads towards the holy city,
They sang a collection of 15 psalms known as the Song of Ascents.
These were songs for travellers.
Songs for tired feet.
Hopeful hearts,
Anxious minds.
And souls longing for God.
But the pilgrimage.
.
.
Albeit heading towards the city.
Was also a journey towards deeper trust,
Deeper surrender.
And deeper communion with God.
These ancient songs which we find in our book of Psalms in the Bible.
Remind us that every life of faith is a pilgrimage.
We all know what it is to travel through seasons of uncertainty to carry unanswered questions.
To hope for peace that often feels it's outside of our reach.
So over these coming days,
We're going to walk this road together.
One step,
One prayer,
And one psalm at a time.
And our pilgrimage begins.
Maybe not unexpectedly.
With honesty.
Because every journey towards God begins by telling the truth about where we are.
And so our first Psalm,
Psalm 120.
I invite you to sit with it now and just see if there's a word or a phrase that catches your attention.
And in the silence that follows,
I invite you to sit with that word or phrase.
And see where it settles to in your heart.
Psalm 120.
In my distress I cry to the Lord.
That He may answer me.
Deliver me,
O Lord,
From lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you.
And what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
A warrior's sharp arrows with glowing coals of the broom tree.
Woe is me.
That I am an alien in Meshach.
That I must live among the tents of Caedar.
Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.
I am for peace,
But when I speak,
They are for war.
Perhaps you've noticed where this psalm intersects with your own life.
Have there been seasons where you've longed for peace while surrounded by conflict?
Maybe the conflict has been around you.
Maybe it's been you.
Within you.
Maybe there's conversations that have left you weary,
Relationships that feel strained,
Or simply the constant noise of a world that often seems to reward outrage.
More than gentleness.
The interesting thing about this first Pilgrim song is it doesn't pretend that everything's okay.
It begins with lament,
With longing.
It begins by admitting that the world is not yet as God intends it to be.
And maybe that's where every true pilgrimage starts.
Right there,
With honesty.
Let's listen once again to the words of the psalm and this time notice what feelings arise.
And hold them before Christ.
Psalm 120.
In my distress I cry to the Lord.
That he may answer me.
Deliver me,
O Lord,
From lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you.
And what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
A warrior's sharp arrows with glowing coals of the broom tree.
Woe is me.
That I am an alien in my ship.
That I must live among the tents of Caedar.
Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.
I am for peace,
But when I speak,
They are for war.
The psalmist says,
I am for peace.
These words sort of hang.
It's not,
I have peace or I understand peace,
But I am for peace.
So peace isn't really something we hold as much as it is the direction of our heart,
The choice we make.
The way we walk.
As followers of Jesus,
We know that longing for peace isn't weakness,
It's courage.
It's that determination to refuse hatred,
To refuse bitterness.
To keep choosing love even when the world chooses conflict.
This first step of pilgrimage reminds us that the journey towards God begins with recognising that we don't yet fully live in God's kingdom.
But we do walk towards it.
Every prayer,
Every act of forgiveness,
Every gentle word.
Every refusal to return anger with anger.
These are the pilgrim steps.
Just listen one final time and maybe now.
.
.
You'll hear these ancient words.
As your own prayer.
Psalm 120.
In my distress I cry to the Lord.
That He may answer me.
Deliver me,
O Lord,
From lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
What shall be given to you.
And what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
A warrior's sharp arrows with glowing coals of the broom tree.
Woe is me.
That I am an alien in Meshach.
That I must live among the tents of Caedar.
Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.
I am for peace,
But when I speak,
They are for war.
Let us pray.
God of peace,
You know the places where our hearts have grown weary.
You know the conversations that still echo within us.
You know the conflicts we carry both around us and within us.
Teach us to become pilgrims of peace.
Where the world invites us into fear,
Lead us towards trust.
When anger seems easier than compassion,
Strengthen us to choose love.
When we're tempted to lose hope,
Lift our eyes again towards your presence.
As we begin this journey through the songs of ascents.
Walk beside us.
May every step draw us closer to Christ,
Who is Himself our peace.
May we carry that peace into every place you send us today and may grace and love also go with us along the way today and always.
Amen.
I hope you'll join me tomorrow as we continue our journey through these songs of ascents.
Until then.
.
.
Peace be with you.
