Moments

Psalm 40:1-11 (NRSV)

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods.

You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.

Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.

I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.

I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation. 

Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.

Do you have a moment?  A moment where something amazing happened? A moment that changed your life and made you see God in a new way?  Opened up scriptures and love and hope for you with a power you aren’t sure still that you understand, but can totally accept?

I’ve heard great stories from many people about those moments.  One of my favorites is from Dr. Timothy Wengert (who I realize I quoted yesterday, and I imagine I’ll quote again…) who tells of how his mother, after spending time with her pastor for instruction, walked to her bus one day after her session, turned on her heel and went back to her pastor to exclaim, “Pastor!  Jesus died for me!” as the realization struck her.

It’s a blessing and a gift when we get a moment like that.  Sometimes for some folks, that moment happens in a great book or song or other piece of art or literature.  Something that makes them see or notice something in God that they’d never noticed before.

My something is Psalm 40 – or more precisely, the song, “40,” by U2.  I’ll talk in more detail in my sermon on Sunday about its affect on me, but suffice it to say that when I read the words of this Psalm now, the music swells in me and God feels oh-so-very-near. 

It’s a moment that was so important to me that I capture and remember, that not long after my commissioning as an Associate in Ministry in the Lutheran Church, I had the number ‘40’ tattooed on my right forearm.  It’s a constant reminder to me that God has set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure and putting a new song in my mouth.  A song of hope. 

God of hope, thank you for the moments, the music, the people you put in our lives that help us to see you more clearly. Amen