Daily Lectio: Monday Morning, June 29

Today is the Feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul.  It is also my ordination anniversary.  I begin my eighth year as a priest in The Episcopal Church….what an amazing adventure!

Here is a piece of Psalm 66, appointed for today:

Psalm 66

1  Be joyful in God, all you lands; *
sing the glory of God’s Name;
sing the glory of God’s praise.
2  Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! *
because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.
3  All the earth bows down before you, *
sings to you, sings out your Name.”
4  Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful God’s actions toward all people.
5  God turned the sea into dry land,
so that they went through the water on foot, *
and there we rejoiced in God.

Part of my practice as a Camaldolese oblate is to reflect on the psalms each day.  I love seeing what psalms are appointed for the feast days–for every day.  It gives me a chance to cycle through.

Psalm 66 gives me a chance to reflect on joy and freedom, on celebration and deliverance from oppression.  Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, there are so many references to the Exodus event.  And, here, we see “God turned the sea into dry land, so that they went through the water on foot, and there we rejoiced God.” A Miriam moment, a time to celebrate and join in song.

This Psalm brings an interesting question to mind:  What is your Exodus moment?  What are those moments in your life when God has delivered you, rescued you, freed you, helped you pass through the sea on dry land?

It’s an interesting question:  if we reflected on our Exodus moments, and created a space in which we could share them with one another, how would our spiritual communities grow?  How could we listen to each other?  Build one another up?

These are watershed days we find ourselves in, from Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si, focusing our attention on climate change all the way to the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage.  Watershed days.  My own feeling is that this is an Exodus season for us all: a  time in which we are being shown a wider consciousness, a greater mindfulness of our interconnectedness to the world, to one another.  No longer can we act as though we live solely for ourselves.  We are called into community….and it’s going to be hard work to support one another.  But, it’s work we’re called to do.

S+