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Stirring
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Matthew B. Gaston | Read Psalm 50:1-6
Today is my birthday and, like every day since I turned thirteen, I will put in my contact lenses in order to see clearly. I have astigmatism. The prefix, a means “without.” Stigma is the Greek word for “point,” so an eye that is “without point” is one that does not allow light rays to meet at a single point of focus, resulting in objects looking fuzzy. Greater clarity results with corrective lenses, of course, but clarity results too with greater light. What I find hard to read by an indoor light is easy to read in the sunlight.
Our psalmist frames the lives of God’s people “from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Between the sun’s rising and setting, that great light brings into sharp relief the reality of our lives. Have we spent more of our resources, thoughts, and actions in the service of God and others or in serving ourselves? It is an important question because God seeks always to form us more in God’s image.
God comes as judge seeking righteousness for our lives and our lives with one another in this world across which God’s light shines brightly, bringing all things into sharp focus.
Today, like most days, I will prayerfully take inventory of my life with thanksgiving. I shall ask where I need God’s light to shine brightly in my life so I can see more clearly what God needs me to see in others’ lives—so that I can serve God and neighbor. This will be my sacrifice of praise.
O Morning Sun, help me see more clearly so I may act more nearly to your heart’s desire. Amen.
In the week leading to Transfiguration Sunday, the texts all deal with holy, transforming light; but they also speak to the awkwardness of waiting for and finally experiencing that light. Elisha’s is a stop-and-go pilgrimage before he sees the chariots of fire. Our psalmist proclaims the march of the sun across the sky while also waiting for the eschatological arrival of God’s justice for God’s people. Paul empathizes with the believers in Corinth who are having to wait and work to “give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” Jesus leads Peter, James, and John up a mountain where they wait and are terrified by the cloud of glory that overshadows them.
• Read Psalm 50:1-6. If your life was like the sun arcing across the sky from sunrise to sunset, where in the daytime arc are you right now? What justice would you like to take part in creating before your life sets in the west?
• Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. In what areas of your life do you feel blinded to the light God wants to shine there?
• Read 2 Kings 2:1-12. Think of a time you have felt most blessed by God. How long did you wait for that blessing? Was it worth the wait?
• Read Mark 9:2-9. Recall your last "mountaintop" experience with Christ. How would you describe it? How did that experience change you?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
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