Epiphany 8a - Psalm 131

Psalm 131

There’s not much to psalm 131 but maybe that’s the point. It is a simple song for the soul, calmed and quieted, like a weaned child finding comfort in the security of a mother’s embrace. A simple song for the soul far removed from the gently sung lullaby and tender touch that in those days made all that was wrong right. It is an invitation to enter child-like innocence, if only for a moment, and rest in the lap of God. But the gift of this simple psalm can only be realized when with heart stilled and mind quieted we let the child within, the one perhaps we only dimly remember, or for some tragically the one that was never allowed to be, take us to the place where we no longer dwell on things too difficult to deal with or too great to understand. Letting go and letting God is not about solving all our problems, resolving all our dilemmas, finding solutions to all the things that need attending. It is about rest and restoration in the same way a loving mother kissed an “owie” and without the benefit of modern medicine somehow made it better. Then with tears dried and laughter restored we went back to whatever we were doing until her lap was needed again. So it is with the life of faith. Taking time away to quiet the heart and still the soul renews our courage and restores our hope so that the worries of each day are less worrisome for we trust God knows our need and is fully present in our everyday. And even though this post is clearly about our relationship with the Lord I’d be a poor son indeed if I didn’t end it with, “I love you, Mom.”