Greetings my friends.
This is Mark Gladman,
Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighborhood monkey and dogs.
Welcome back.
As we continue to war.
On pilgrimage through the Psalms of ascents.
Invite you to take a moment to consciously bring yourself into a place of stillness,
To settle,
To get comfortable.
To relax,
Allow your breathing to slow,
To bring yourself fully into this present moment.
Take a nice,
Slow,
Deep breath in and out.
And as you notice your breathing,
Just become aware of the simple gift.
Of God's presence.
Nothing else you need to do except be in this moment.
Write down.
As we continue our pilgrimage through the songs of ascents.
We've now travelled deep into the inner landscapes of the soul.
We began with longing for peace.
We lifted our eyes towards the one who watches over us.
We remembered God's faithfulness,
Learnt to trust,
Sowed through tears,
Surrendered our striving.
We discovered blessing in ordinary life.
We faced our wounds and yesterday we descended into the depths and discovered that God's mercy was there waiting for us.
Today after the dips.
Comes stillness and Psalm 131 is one of the shortest Psalms in the entire Psalter but it has a beautiful simplicity.
That carries profound wisdom.
It's a prayer of surrender,
A prayer of humility.
And a prayer that's learned how to rest.
So listen now to Psalm 131 the first time,
And as you do,
Just open your mind and your ears to hear the word or phrase that the Spirit might be drawing you towards to reflect on as we begin today.
Psalm 131.
O Lord,
My heart is not lifted up.
My eyes are not raised too high.
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul.
Like a weaned child with its mother,
My soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
O Israel,
Hope in the Lord.
From this time on.
And forevermore.
So what word or phrase found you today?
My heart is not lifted up.
I have calmed and quieted my soul.
Hope in the Lord,
Whatever it is,
Just allow it to stay with you and become your prayer as we continue to reflect.
Now there's a beautiful humility.
At the heart of this psalm.
The pilgrim says,
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.
And we must be careful not to see this as a rejection of wisdom.
The psalmist here isn't refusing to learn or lacking any curiosity,
But rather They've come to the posture of recognising that there's mysteries that they just can't control sometimes.
There's questions we can't force to have answers.
There's things that belong to God alone.
And peace begins when we stop trying to carry what was never ours to carry.
How much of our inner restlessness comes from reaching beyond what's been entrusted to us,
Trying to control outcomes or predict futures,
To understand everything.
And often it's,
You know,
Not something that we're doing out of malice.
It's sometimes,
For instance,
To protect ourselves.
From pine possibly.
But the pilgrim discovers a different way.
It's a way of trust.
Let's listen again,
This time in slow motion.
Just focusing on that image of the weaned child and mother.
And as we reflect afterwards,
Just see how this image stirs you.
Psalm 131.
O Lord,
My heart is not lifted up.
My eyes are not raised too high.
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul.
Like a weaned child with its mother,
My soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
O Israel!
Hope in the Lord.
From this time on.
And forevermore.
Now that image at the centre of the psalm is one of extraordinary tenderness.
A weaned child resting with their mother.
So this is an.
.
.
A newborn.
Demanding to have their needs satisfied.
It's the image of a child who's learned security.
And because of that.
.
.
They can simply rest.
They're loved because they belong.
And this is one of the deepest truths of the spiritual life.
Before we do anything for God,
We belong to God.
Before we're served,
We're loved.
Before we accomplish,
We're held.
And Jesus returned to this truth again.
And again,
When his disciples argued about greatness,
He put a child among them.
When he taught people to pray,
He invited them to begin with our Father.
The life of faith begins with receiving the love that's already reaching towards us.
The soul becomes quiet because it's discovered where it's held.
Let's listen one last time and this time as you listen to the psalm,
Hear it as an invitation to rest and sit with that.
In the silence that follows.
Psalm 131.
O Lord,
My heart is not lifted up.
My eyes are not raised too high.
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul.
Like a weaned child with its mother,
My soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
O Israel,
Hope in the Lord.
From this time on.
And forevermore.
Let us pray.
Loving God,
Quiet our restless hearts.
When we carry questions beyond our capacity,
Teach us humility.
When we reach for control,
Teachers trust.
When we measure our worth by what we achieve.
Remind us that we're already loved.
Calm and quiet our souls.
Teach us to rest in your presence like a child resting in the loving arms of a parent.
May we receive your love before we attempt to offer anything in return.
May we walk gently,
Live humbly,
Hope deeply.
And may our hearts become places of stillness where your peace can dwell.
And may grace,
Peace and love go with us and remain with us from this time on and forevermore.
Thanks so much for still being with us on this journey,
Friends.
Until tomorrow,
Peace be with you.
