THE SPIRITUAL LIFE Desire is an emotionally charged word. It’s a deep-seated, intense longing for an unmet need to be filled. Psalms 84 & 42 speaks of such a need, a desire to worship God when it was not possible. These two chapters were written by the same people, for the same reason. They didn’t begin as chapters, they were prayers set to music. Hymns and songs written by and for the sons of Korah. These men made up the levitical choir of the temple of God in Jerusalem, appointed by King David. They and their descendants were musicians and singers for 800 years. Their singing wasn’t a job or a hobby. It was their ministry, their purpose, their calling, their reason for living. They loved leading the congregation in liturgical worship. So why the lament? The chosen people were under attack by one of the many enemies of God. Armies were ransacking the city, looting and burning and destroying everything and everyone in sight. Every aspect of society was affected. This included opportunities to go to the temple to worship. For people who loved to worship God, this was tragic. For those who had a take-it-or-leave-it, or a duty bound attitude about worship, it wasn’t quite as painful. But these servants of God were heart broken. Their spirits were crushed: “My God, it’s Sabbath and I can’t go to the Temple and worship my God.” It was a time for tears and lament. There was a void, an empty space in their souls that could not be filled. The best way the hymn writer expressed it and sent on to the music director was like the song we just sang. Sometimes, when you’re hurting, when your heart is aching, when your soul is dry, just the right song can release the pent-up passion, emotions that the spoken word cannot. “As the deer pants for water, my soul pants, thirsts for you God.”
Some of you hunters probably already have permanent images in your mind, because you’ve hunted deer. You can see the woods, trees, the leaves, branches, hear the crunch of the ground beneath your boots, or hear and feel the rustling, cool wind in the air. Try now to picture it. Can you imagine a deer in the woods? The deer’s instincts are on full alert. The walking turns into running as it is pursued. All of that anxiousness, the awareness of danger causes dry mouth. It thirsts. The musicians, must have been aware of such a situation, because this is the picture they painted with words. Psalm 42: As the deer thirsts for water from a stream, etc. The Hebrew people long to drink from the living God in his presence, the temple. But they can’t, because they are cut off from the source. God told the Israelites to come to the temple, and he’d meet them there, in the holy of holies. In Psalm 84, they sing with the memories of the temple uppermost in their minds: the house of the Lord is beloved. “My very being, my essence, my soul that which makes me who I am yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart, my flesh cries out to you, O God. Farther in the chapter they sing of desire for autumn rain to drench the body, mind and spirit. For those of you whose relationship with God involves the head and not the heart, you may struggle with these two psalms. You may have no idea what I’m talking about. The psalms are a tribute to The Spiritual Life. They remind us that the spirit, as well as the body, has to be fed. Perhaps you’ve never desired to know God on any level other than the intellect. Head salvation is good and necessary to study, understand and live the Bible, so we can teach and share the gospel with others. Heart salvation is necessary to grow spiritually. We need it to trust God when our lives are a mess. It helps to feel the presence of God when it seems that evil is about to overtake us, and to develop compassion for others. Salvation isn’t about either/or; it’s about both/and. Holiness of heart and mind. Intimacy with God is not to be feared, it’s to be experienced and embraced. We are spiritual beings. If you have never felt the presence of the Lord, please call me this week. There are a lot of saints who have led deeply spiritual lives. I’m talking about Holy Spirit-led, Spirit-filled lives. People who consult the Lord 24 hours a day, pray without ceasing, study the Word, cherish their baptism, feast at the Lord’s Table every chance they get, joyfully engage in holy conversations – practicing the means of grace, with devotion. One such saint was Julian of Norwich, England. She lived in the 1400s. Born into a rich family, she gave up her inheritance to live in mystical union with God. She asked for and received three experiences of suffering, sickness and longing in order to be more like Jesus. “…I had often great longing, and desired of God’s gift to be delivered from this world and this life, for I wanted to be with my God in the bliss in which I surely hope to be without end (Julian of Norwich: Showings, translated by Colledge and Walsh, Paulist, 1978, p160). She called her experiences gifts of grace, and she taught others what it was like to be in mystical union with Christ. “Do you desire nothing but Christ?” That’s one of the historic Wesleyan questions those of us who seek ordination are asked. Here’s a question for you: Do you hunger and thirst for God? Do you long for a deeper relationship with Christ? Come to His table. Let Jesus feed your soul and fill the empty spaces of your life with his gracious spirit. Amen. |