Daily Lectio: Tuesday, July 14

In this morning’s propers, I was looking at this piece of Psalm 28

1  O LORD, I call to you;
my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry; *
lest, if you do not hear me,
I become like those who go down to the Pit.
2  Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you, *
when I lift up my hand to your holy of holies.
3  Do not snatch me away with the wicked or with the evildoers, *
who speak peaceably with their neighbors,
while strife is in their hearts.

The piece that hooked me was the portion of verse 3:  “who speak peaceably with their neighbors, while strife is in their hearts.”  There is something about God’s grace and compassion that enables us to be fully transparent.  This psalm shows us that we can cry out to God, our rock and shelter and refuge, to seek deliverance.  “Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you.”  But, there is this tension within us, this image, of speaking peaceably “while strife is in [our] hearts.”

How do we struggle with this?  How do we resist this call to transparency, to honesty in community?

This one deserves a bit more reflection, especially seeing as how we are seeking to cultivate community at Grace…a space of spiritual community that fosters dialogue and compassion and understanding….

S+