Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
Wednesday October 13, 2021
The Invitatory
O give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon his Name; tell the people what things he hath done.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end.
Amen.
Praise ye the Lord.
The Lord's Name be praised.
Reading: Psalm 119:1-8
1 Happy are they whose way is blameless, *
who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Happy are they who observe his decrees *
and seek him with all their hearts!
3 Who never do any wrong, *
but always walk in his ways.
4 You laid down your commandments, *
that we should fully keep them.
5 Oh, that my ways were made so direct *
that I might keep your statutes!
6 Then I should not be put to shame, *
when I regard all your commandments.
7 I will thank you with an unfeigned heart, *
when I have learned your righteous judgments.
8 I will keep your statutes; *
do not utterly forsake me.
Meditation – Michael Palmisano
They’re questions far too familiar to the Church: “Why,” they ask, “is the Church so restrictive?” And “when will the Church get with the 21st century?” These questions are representative of some of the many legitimate concerns of folks who have been disappointed and hurt by the Church (universal) – the Church in which they see no place for people like themselves. All the Church’s teaching, odd rituals, ethical behaviors, and preoccupation with a Creator have no place in their lives. These things just don’t resonate with the world they experience.
The author of Psalm 119 has a very different opinion about all these religious preoccupations and perceived “restrictions.” God’s “commandments,” His “Word,” His “Law,” and God’s many “statutes, judgements, testimonies, and precepts” are so vital that they are mentioned in almost every line of this Psalm. Perhaps this would not be worth noting if Psalm 119 – with its 176 verses – was not longest chapter in the Bible. The religious ordering of life is so indispensable to the psalmist that life itself might not be a possibility nor a reality without it. God’s desires for man to order his life are literally written into the whole Creation.
The value of attending to God’s Word hardly needs to be described by the content of this Psalm – the poetic form itself recalls the life-giving beauty of the Word which comes from God’s mouth. The Psalm’s form is that of a 22-segment acrostic poem – each section beginning with one of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, almost as if to communicate that our lives, our actions, and our speaking are caught up in God’s own speech to us. If we are willing to listen and respond, God’s revealing “Word” might teach us something about how best to joyfully cohabitate with God’s Creation, creatures, and Himself. It’s quite possible therefore that what might be perceived as restriction to the outsider is in fact the context in which freedom might become more readily transparent to us.
When the Church listens and hears the Word of God, we can be justifiably hopeful that we are consenting to a view of the world that gives life. When the Church is critiqued by those outside of Her, by those who see no place for themselves, then it’s time to begin listening anew. If the psalmist’s perception of God’s Word is reliable – that it is written into the fabric of all Creation – then we must be willing to discern God’s speech to us from whatever source it might come.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Closing Prayer
Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.
