| Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.” (Psalm 16:1) |
| Dear Friends, Generally, we Episcopalians do not spend a lot of time with the psalms, this beautiful and lyrical collection of poetry. In his book, Praying the Psalms, theologian Walter Brueggemann says the psalms are: “… the voice of our own common humanity—gathered over a long period of time, but a voice that continues to have amazing authenticity and contemporaneity. It speaks about life the way it really is, for in those deeply human dimensions the same issues and possibilities persist. And so when we turn to the Psalms it means we enter into the midst of that voice of humanity and decide to take our stand with that voice…. We add a voice to the common elation, shared grief, and communal rage that besets us all.” This past Sunday’s opening verse from Psalm 16 was timely. It fit. It still does. As the behavioral dominoes of control, derision, and divisive pride actively fall on and batter our humanity, pleading to God for protection and taking refuge in God seem a fantastic response. In whatever ways we take refuge in God, the sense of safety that must come has got to be the key to help us to imagine differently, to be influenced and formed differently. From there, may we initiate new behavioral dominoes – those of freedom, respect, wonder, and unifying humility which uphold our humanity and connect us all. The pictures from around our parish included in this post show just a few ways we take refuge in God (prayers, weddigs, fellowship, worship, outreach). May we find our divine refuge together in our parish, in our families, and in our communities. May we be sustained as sources of renewal for our humanity. In Peace, Rev. Dina |