Hearing the Music

Listen to Metaphor

Silent and listen are anagrams. Not only do they use the same letters, they work together, too. We need to be silent to listen.

“Listening is the part of prayer that’s most neglected,” said Eugene Peterson in an interview I recently listened to. He spoke of poetry in the Bible, especially in the Psalms, and the remarkable use of metaphor which “both means what it says and what it doesn’t say. Those two things come together and it creates an imagination which is active. You’re not trying to figure things out; you’re trying to enter into what is there.”

So I perused the five Psalms for this week, looking for metaphors. In Psalm 81 we read that we will be fed honey from a rock. In Psalm 84 it says, “in whose heart are the highways to Zion.” And “righteousness and peace kiss each other” in Psalm 85. The imagination kicks in to picture these things.

Peterson memorized Psalm 92, the Sabbath Psalm, and then recited it every Sunday as part of his prayer for that day. He memorized seven psalms, one for each day of the week. Then as he was silent in prayer, the words of that psalm informed his listening. “Psalm 18 is a psalm just filled with metaphor and you are overwhelmed with all the ways you can reimagine God working in your life.”

I’ve read books on prayer over the years, heard sermons, done Bible studies. But my prayer life feels stagnant right now. (Stagnant. Metaphor. Picturing a small pond, brackish water, pond scum floating on top, sunlight not getting through, death and decay below. Needs stirring.) 

I listened to the interview because of my interest in poetry. But it’s turning my attention to prayer. What seven psalms would I choose for the week? Psalm 84 could be a Sunday psalm. How I envy that sparrow, gliding through the temple courts, nesting near the altar, brooding silently on her eggs, watching the lambs and goats, grain offerings, fire, smoke wafting up into the blue sky. Promises enacted day after day. Why should prayer be hard, O my soul? Consider the sparrow. Be silent and listen. Then sing out to Creator-God of his marvelous works.

Cupped hands holding a small bird
        ~after a drawing by Emma Bukovietski (above)

It started with the first solid gray line
a horizon marking a beginning
then others darker, lighter
depending on the pressure
and angle of the graphite
some lines curved, shaded,
cross hatched.

The Creator drew the form 
that he would inhabit — a vessel to hold
the coursing blood, the mind, the soul 
just as hands cradle a nestling
its beak as distinctive
as a number two pencil 
pointing into the world.

When feathers fledged he flew
swift and straight as a polished arrow.

Photo by Mateo Abrahan on Unsplash

Gathering

Hebrews 10:24-25 "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

There are many ways that we as a church gather and spur one another on toward love and good deeds. We worship together on Sunday mornings, we join one another in C-groups, play groups, and Bible studies. We could create quite an extensive list of gathering points, everything from formal meetings to casual coffee meet-ups, but certainly a favorite gathering point at Christ Church every year is Arts and Rec. 

At Arts and Rec we share a wonderful week when people of all ages and stages of life come out and use their gifts to bless and encourage the church! This year we will spend time with the minor prophet Jonah as we study God’s word, make music, create art, play games, and simply enjoy gathering for fun and fellowship. 

Arts and Rec is much more than just a fun week of summer day camp for our kids, though that alone would be a worthy reason to gather. Still even more significant is the great blessing of so many from our congregation coming out and sharing their gifts and talents to make it all happen! Each year camp looks a little different as it reflects the gifts of our people – sharing their creativity with our kids through art, music, and snacks; keeping it running smoothly with attention to detail from super-organized planners … all image-bearers of the Living and True God, and when we gather together using his good gifts, we find ourselves encouraged, and very truly we get a little taste of glory. 

Where You Look is Where You Go

I recently had a conversation with a colleague who explained the safest way to drive a motorcycle. “The most important thing to remember is that where you look is where you go,” he squinted off to the distance and drew an imaginary line from his nose to the horizon. “There’s this deadly thing called ‘target fixation'. When you fixate on something like a tree or the lines on the road, your body follows and the bike goes directly at it, which is a common cause of motorcycle accidents. So, if you come across an obstacle, don’t look at it. Look beyond it to find out where you’re going.”

If you are following our congregational weekly devotional, you’ll find Psalm 73 this week. Asaph, a Levite musician in King David’s courts, doesn’t hold back his emotions; he is enraged to see greedy, famous, violent people flourishing while he struggles. They mock his faith and daily push against what he knows to be true. His question isn’t “why do bad things happen to good people?”; instead, it is “why do good things happen to bad people?” In comparing his pain and deficiencies, he “almost” drives headlong into the ravine of bitterness and envy.

“But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end” (vs 16-17). In his exhaustion, he steps into the tabernacle. It is as if the reader can watch him untangle the noise in his mind and take a deep breath in the stillness. “Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand” (v 23). He does not move from his place in worship or speak out among the oppressors. It is here where he is safe. It is here where his eyes connect with the abundant expanse of eternity. And as he sees the greatness and goodness of God amid His people, his bitterness dissipates and he comprehends the futility of earthly comparison. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (v 26).

No one reading this letter is without struggle; we live in an epidemic of exhaustion by all the clamoring voices that pull our focus and threaten defeat. We may even question God’s purpose in permitting evil to flourish in light of current events. Nevertheless, whether homebound or in our midst, I pray that you join us in the sanctuary this Sunday and can echo Asaph in his wonder: “Whom have I in heaven but you? There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (v 25).

Photo by Meritt Thomas on Unsplash