SUNDAY, MARCH 1
Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalms and Songs
The children in CrossWalks hear these words each week they attend, and probably most have no idea that they come from the Book of Psalms. The songs and prayers of Psalms have nourished and fed the souls of Jews and Christians alike for centuries and have been woven into the fabric of our lives often without our even knowing it. Jesus prayed the words of the Psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” while hanging on the cross. We read, recite, and sing Psalms in part because they are an expression of almost every possible emotion we experience from deepest sorrow and raging anger, to tumultuous confusion and extravagant joy.
Our journey through Lent is not unlike the images reflected in the Psalms. We wonder where God is in our times of trial, when the economy bottoms out, when the security of our future is seriously threatened, when our loved ones and others are desperately hurting.
This year, our FPC worship and education emphasis on the songs and prayers found in Psalms will lead us through a gamut of emotions and places which hopefully bring us back to that place of hope and joy as we learn to “Sing to the Lord a new song” along the way. The children will learn that when we feel angry and frustrated with people and God, it’s okay to express that in our conversations with God.
A prayer wall similar to the concept of the Western Wall in Israel will be constructed in the hallway running from the Fireside Room to Knox Auditorium. Find some time this Lent to sit in that hallway on the benches provided, to read a few Psalms and to write or draw your prayers of thanksgiving, lament, petition and praise and slip them into the “rock” pockets. Your prayers are private and will not be read but will collectively be offered to God in worship.
Prayer: O God, as we travel through this season of uncertainty, please guide us in our wilderness wanderings, our waiting and our watching, and draw us ever closer to you in the midst of all that life brings us. Amen.
Cindy Merten
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