Hello friends.
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James or Friendly Neighbourhood Monk in Docs.
Welcome to another episode in our series of guided contemplations on some Psalms of refuge.
As always,
We begin by taking a moment to become still.
Just allow your body to settle,
Feel the support beneath you.
Notice your breathing.
The gentle rhythm of your life moving within.
There's nowhere else you need to be or do,
Nothing you need to achieve during this time.
Just arrive here in this moment.
And as you settle,
Just open you up to the awareness of God's presence.
A presence that's close,
That doesn't need to be earned because it's already here.
And always has been here.
A presence that surrounds you and dwells within you.
Just take a slow,
Deep breath in.
And out.
And rest.
Today we continue our journey through the Psalms of Refuge.
With Psalm 27.
This psalm begins with remarkable confidence.
Yet as we move through it,
We discover that the writer isn't speaking from a life that's free from difficulty.
There's enemies,
There's threats,
There's fears,
Uncertainty,
Questions,
Doubts.
And so the courage of the psalm doesn't come from having everything under control.
It comes from discovering something deeper than fear.
It comes from discovering the presence of God.
So now let's just listen to the words of the Psalm.
Psalm 27.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
Throw an army and camp against me.
My heart shall not fear.
Though war rise up against me.
Yet.
I will be confident.
One thing I asked of the Lord.
That will I seek of them.
To live in the house of the Lord.
All the days of my life.
To behold the beauty of the Lord.
And to enquire.
In his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter.
In the day of trouble.
He will conceal me under the cover of his tent.
He will set me high.
Upon a rock.
Hear,
O Lord,
When I cry aloud.
Be gracious to me and answer me.
You have said,
Seek my face.
My heart says to you,
Your face Lord,
Do I see.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord.
Be strong.
And let your heart take courage.
Wait.
For the Lord.
Now the psalm begins with words that many people know.
The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Now it's tempting to hear these words as certainty or confidence.
And as strength,
And they are,
But.
.
.
Notice something important.
The psalm wouldn't mention fear if fear weren't present.
The writer knows fear.
The writer knows uncertainty and danger.
So courage isn't in the absence of fear.
Courage is discovering something deeper.
Than fear.
Maybe there's something in your life that brings anxiety right now.
Perhaps a conversation,
A decision.
A change.
A loss,
A future you can't see clearly yet.
Just acknowledge it.
What fear.
Is asking for your attention today.
And now hear these words again.
The Lord is my light.
Now it's important to remember that light doesn't eliminate paths,
This light illuminates paths.
Light helps us take the next step.
Now often we want certainty about the whole journey,
But this psalm offers us something very different.
Enough light for this moment,
Enough light for the next step,
Enough light to just keep moving forward.
Take a deep breath and imagine God's light gently illuminating the place where you find yourself today.
It may not necessarily answer every question or solve every problem.
But the light offers presence.
Clarity.
And companionship on the journey.
And then we come to the heart of the psalm and maybe the most important words in the entire passage.
It says,
One thing I asked of the Lord,
That will I seek after.
Notice that?
One thing,
Not 10 things.
Not a hundred things.
One.
Thing.
The Psalmist has discovered something many of us spend our whole lives learning.
That most of our suffering comes from being pulled in a thousand different directions.
We chase approval,
Success,
Security and control and recognition.
And certainty.
But the Samas just simplifies everything.
One.
Thing.
And what's that one thing.
To live in the house of the Lord.
All the days of my life.
Now what might that mean?
Now I want you to understand,
It's not primarily about a building or a place.
It's talking about the house of the Lord.
It's not about a church or a temple.
It's about living in awareness.
Of God's presence and making our home there,
Returning there.
Abiding there.
The deepest longing of the human heart.
Isn't for possessions or achievement or even for more certainty.
The deepest longing of the heart is ultimately for God.
And the psalmist has discovered this.
And everything begins.
To simplify.
Just take a moment and ask yourself,
What is the one thing beneath all the other things that you seek?
Beneath all the striving,
Beneath all the worries,
Beneath all the goals,
What does your soul truly long for?
And then the psalm continues.
You have said,
Seek my face.
My heart says to you,
Your face,
Lord,
Do I seek.
I think this is one of the most beautiful moments in Scripture.
God calls.
The heart responds.
And notice what the psalmist talks about seeking.
Not seeking answers or certainty or control or success.
It says seek answers.
My face,
What's that talking about?
He's talking about relationship.
I was talking about presence and communion.
There are many spiritual traditions.
That teach.
That transformation begins when we stop seeking things from God and begin seeking God.
Notice that subtle difference?
Let me say that again.
Transformation begins when we stop seeking things from God and begin seeking.
God.
So the psalmist isn't asking for a map.
The psalmist is seeking the one who walks beside them.
So what if prayer weren't primarily about getting somewhere?
What if prayer is learning to become present to the one?
Who is already here.
Now towards the end of the psalm,
The tone shifts again.
The writer says,
Not someday,
One day.
In some place after I die,
When difficulties disappear.
But here,
Now,
In this life,
The psalmist believes that goodness is already present.
Even when it's difficult to see.
A trust.
That God is present and active,
Even in seasons.
Of uncertainty.
Can you think of one small sign of goodness in your life today?
Just something simple,
A person,
A moment,
A kindness.
A breath,
A sunrise.
A conversation,
Just allow yourself to receive.
That small sign of goodness.
And then the psalm ends with an instruction.
Wait for the Lord.
Be strong and let your heart take courage.
Wait for the Lord.
Now,
Waiting is difficult.
We prefer action,
Solutions,
Movement,
Progress.
But much of the spiritual life is learning to trust what's unfolding in its own time,
Learning to rest instead of forcing,
Learning to receive instead of controlling.
Learning to wait.
So for the next few moments,
Just simply rest.
In that invitation.
As you breathe in,
Silently say one thing.
And as you breathe out.
.
.
Your presence.
Breathing in.
One thing.
Breathing out.
Your presence.
And as you pray the prayer,
Allow the words to settle deeper into your heart.
Breathing in.
.
.
One thing.
Breathing out.
Your presence.
So as we come to the end,
Just hear once more the heart of the psalm.
One thing I ask of the Lord.
That I will seek after.
And may those words be an invitation to you.
An invitation to simplify.
An invitation to return and an invitation to seek the presence.
That has always been seeking you.
Let's print.
Loving God,
You are the light that guides us.
You are the refuge that holds us.
When fear rises within us,
Help us remember your presence.
When we're pulled in many directions,
Teach us the freedom of seeking one thing.
Help us seek your face.
Help us recognize your goodness.
Help us trust.
In the seasons of waiting.
May our hearts find courage,
Not because things are given with certainty,
But because you with us.
Thank you so much for spending this time in prayer and reflection today.
May you move through today with a simpler heart and may grace,
Peace and love go with you and remain with you today and always.
Amen.
And as you go,
Remember.
The Lord is the light.
And your salvation.
Whom shall you fear?
Go in peace,
My friends.
Until tomorrow.
Bye for now.
