Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome as we begin a journey.
Through the Psalms of refuge.
Ancient prayers written by people.
Who knew fear?
And uncertainty,
People who knew grief and danger.
People whose lives were often far from peaceful and yet again and again.
They discovered a deeper place of rest.
Because God was present.
As we prepare to begin.
I just invite you to find a comfortable position.
Allow your body to settle.
There's nowhere you need to go right now.
Nothing you need to achieve.
All you need to do is be.
Just arrive here in this moment.
Notice the gentle movement of your breath.
The rise and fall of your chest.
The sensation of your body resting where it is.
And as you become aware of your breathing,
Just allow yourself to become aware of God's presence.
God.
Who doesn't need to be persuaded to come near,
But a God who's already here,
Closer than your breath.
Present in this moment.
Today we begin with Psalm 46.
A psalm that's often quoted in times of crisis,
A psalm that reminds us that peace isn't found in absence of storms,
But in the presence of God.
And so as we begin,
Let's listen to the words of the Psalm.
Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength.
A very present help.
In trouble.
Therefore we will not fear.
But the Earth should change.
Though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea.
Though its waters roar and foam.
Though the mountains tremble.
With its tumult.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her.
She shall not be moved.
God will help her when the morning dawns.
The nations are in an uproar.
The kingdoms totter.
He utters his voice.
The earth melts.
The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob.
Is our refuge.
Behold the works of the Lord,
See what desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow.
He shatters the spear.
He burns the shields with fire.
Be still and know that I am God.
I am exalted among the nations.
I am exalted in the earth.
The Lord of Hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is.
Our refuge.
Notice the imagery.
The earth shaking.
Mountains collapsing into the sea,
Waters roaring,
Kingdoms rising and falling.
This is anything but a picture.
Of a calm and peaceful life.
It's a picture of upheaval.
Of uncertainty.
Certainly what many of us have experienced inwardly from time to time.
Maybe there's places in your own life that feel unsettled right now.
Questions that don't have answers.
Changes that you didn't choose.
Losses you didn't expect.
Anxiousness about the future.
Maybe just the weariness of cowering too much for too long.
Notice that the psalm doesn't deny those realities but begins right in the middle of them and yet it says Therefore,
We will not fear.
Certainly the storm hasn't ended,
But God has.
Is present.
Listen again to the words of the psalm,
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help.
In trouble.
Did you hear that?
A very present help.
Not absent,
Not delayed,
Not somewhere else,
But present,
Here,
Now.
Imagine placing whatever feels heavy today into the hands of God.
Just acknowledge it.
And allow it to rest.
And then the psalm introduces another image,
A river.
A river quietly flowing through the city of God,
While everything else seems unstable,
The river continues to flow,
Gentle,
Steady,
Life-giving.
Many contemplative teachers have seen this river as an image of God's presence always flowing.
Beneath the surface of our lives,
Always available,
Even when we forget,
Even when we're disconnected.
Even when we're afraid.
Is take a moment now to imagine that river.
Just gently flowing.
Through your life.
And then we arrive at the most famous words of the psalm,
Be still and know that I am God.
There's a lot of people.
Who hear that as a commandment of some sort,
As though God's saying,
Stop moving,
Stop thinking,
Stop worrying.
But I wonder whether there's another way.
To hear this.
Perhaps it's more of an invitation to let go.
To release our grip,
To stop carrying what was never intended for us to carry in the first place.
And in the Hebrew behind this phrase.
As a suggestion of letting go,
Relaxing our hold and releasing our striving and trying.
In other words,
Be still,
Let go.
And know that I am God,
Not you,
Not your fears or your plans or your need for being certain about everything.
I am God.
And God.
So for the next few moments,
Just sit with that invitation.
Listen to your breathing.
And open yourself to that invitation to know that God is here.
And then the psalm ends where it began.
The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
With us.
Not ahead of us or behind us,
But with us.
We don't run to a refuge,
The refuge is God,
Present within this moment,
Present within your life,
Within every joy and every sorrow.
Present,
Even now.
So as we prepare to finish,
Just hear once more.
The heart of the psalm,
Be still and know that I am God.
And allow the words to settle deeply within you,
Not as something that you have to do or be,
But as something you're invited to receive.
What if you join me in prayer?
Loving God,
When life feels uncertain,
Remind us that you are our refuge.
When our minds are restless,
Teach us to rest in your presence.
When fear begins to rise,
Help us remember that you are with us.
May we discover beneath every storm the quiet river of your love.
Teach us to be still.
Teach us to trust.
Teach us to rest in you.
Thank you so much for spending this time in prayer and reflection.
May you carry the peace of God's presence with you today.
And always.
And may you always remember that God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in times of trouble.
Go in peace,
My friend.
Until next time.
Bye for now.
