It seems contradictory for the word "happy" to be so close to words like "sin, transgression, iniquity". But there they are, dancing together in the same verse!
The psalm is lyrical in rhythm. Can you feel it?
There is an ebb and a flow between the piercing presence of temptation and the complete protection of God's loving presence.
It's like facing powerful waves. There are times when poisonous thoughts crash against my peace. Rather than fight them with some exertion of my own will or self discipline, I cry out for God's Hand.
God places me on the high rock of God's Understanding and Compassion -- Forgiveness and Mercy.
I can envision myself at the tip of that rock, with no other source of balance than God's love enveloping me. I stand tall under God's watchful, instructive eye. It is much more than being taught by God or being disciplined for my faults (like a horse being bridled with a check rein).
It is about being known completely. It is about being nourished and sustained from deep within. It is about being lifted beyond the commotion of sin and having access to God's consolation. It is about transformation in the places from which all of that poisonous potential first erupted.
During these Lenten days we walk in the places where our wild untamed thoughts prowl. Lent says "Be tamed" to our teeming torments.
Lent is also about reaching out from our hidden places. The hands of our soul grasp God's abundant mercy and guidance. We are set firmly in God's knowledge (about us!). Under God's eye and God's touch, we are established in what God knows we are becoming, not what our sin says we have been.
Astounding! Today's hymn suggests that Lent is about happiness! Now that's something I had never thought about before!
3 comments:
Yes the TRUE happiness that comes from God alone. I call that kind of happiness "joy" because there is no external stimuli that creates it. . . only God, even in the midst of struggle and pain. Thanks Pamela!
Have you ever heard the expression "Oh happy fault'? If we were "perfect" we would not come to know the depth of God's Love for us. Who wouldn't love someone who is perfect? But by getting in touch with our sin, we can also come to appreciate that we are loved no matter what.
oh yes... the happiness from and in God moves quickly to joy. Not necessarily with fireworks and sparklers.... but with shimmering echoes of the knowledge that one is loved, forgiven and precious before God. In that regard, our knowledge of the depth of God's love is magnified when we realize that as we are as we are, "no matter what", we are seen in perfection, finally, as Christ steps before us toward God. I know that several of the mystics who have walked before us have referred to "Oh Happy Sorrow" or, as Clarence reminds us "Oh happy fault". I am reminded how accessible God's love is when I stop ruminating upon my imperfections and simply shift my gaze to how precious and beloved I am by God...no matter what!
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