Daily Lectio: Thursday Evening, May 21

“O taste and see that the Lord is

good;

happy are those who take refuge

in him.

O fear the Lord, you his holy

ones

for those who fear him have no

want.” (Psalm 34:8-9 NRSV)

I love this evening’s psalms, especially 34.  To begin with

“I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise shall continually be in

my mouth.”

Such a good reminder of our constant call to gratitude….to praise and adoration.

I was reflecting today on how the church seems to slide so easily into this program-maintenance model.  It is so tempting for us, to have these regulated and measured spaces….to show that we’ve “done something.”  And, we do need to be reasonable, dare I say “practical” in our ministry.  We have to function, after all.  Right?

What does it mean to “function” in ministry, to be successful, when we have Psalms like 34 as our anchor, as the ground in which we take root?  How do we shape and measure metrics when we are called to “bless the Lord at all times” and “taste and see that the Lord is good?”  We live in interesting days in the church, times when we can finally–finally!–let go of this illusion of coasting on our institutional history, on our pride and cultural weight.  Now, we get real.

Hear what Norman Fischer describes in his interpretation.  I think it’s spot on….

“Every moment I bless you

Your praise is always in my mouth

My soul boasts of you

The humble hear it and rejoice.

…

Holy ones, be awestruck in God

And you’ll want nothing more

…

Come, children, listen to me

I will teach you how to fall back in awe…”

Wow…..I want to have a conversation about measuring metrics when our “mission” is “to fall back in awe.”  That’s a conversation I want to have!

S+