Greetings Friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighborhood monk in dogs.
Welcome as we continue our pilgrimage up to Jerusalem.
Reflecting on these songs of a sense.
As always,
We take a moment just to allow ourselves to settle into stillness.
Just feel the support beneath you.
Begin to notice your breathing.
That gentle movement of air entering.
And leaving the feeling of your chest rising.
And descending again.
And as you settle,
Become aware of that simple gift of this moment.
You are here.
You are alive and you're held in the presence of God.
As we continue our journey through these songs of ascents,
These psalms of pilgrimage,
We've travelled through many landscapes of the soul.
We've cried out for peace.
Lifted our eyes towards God,
Remembered God's faithfulness.
Learn to trust.
Sown seeds through tears and even realised that our anxious efforts needs to be released into the hands of the one who builds and sustains all things.
And today the pilgrims invited to reflect on what it means to live a blessed life.
But know that scripture's understanding of blessing is often different from what we in the modern world define it as.
In the modern world we often measure blessing by accumulation.
Whether that be success,
Recognition,
Comfort,
Achievement,
Wealth.
But biblical blessing.
Isn't about having more.
It's about walking more deeply with God.
It's about a life aligned with love.
Rooted in reverence.
A life that becomes a source of goodness for others.
So let's listen to the words of Psalm 128.
And in this first reading,
As always,
Just see what words or phrases God draws you to as we listen to the text of the song.
Psalm 128.
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord.
Who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands.
You shall be happy.
And it shall go well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.
Your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus,
The one who is blessed is the one who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be.
Upon Israel.
What phrase or word emerged for you?
Perhaps it was happy,
Is everyone who fears the Lord.
Maybe who walks in God's ways,
Or maybe the Lord bless you.
Whatever it was,
As always,
Just hold that gently as we reflect and allow it to be a prayer that speaks to you as well as speaks through you.
Psalm 128 begins with a word that appears often in scripture,
Blessed.
But what does it mean to be blessed?
The psalm gives us an answer.
Blessing begins with a way of walking.
The psalmist writes,
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who walks in God's ways.
Now,
The biblical idea of fearing God isn't about being frightened of God.
It's about recognizing the holiness beauty and mystery.
Of God.
It's about living with reverence.
Living with awareness,
As though Every ordinary moment is held within the presence of the sacred.
The blessed person,
Then,
Isn't the person who somehow avoided difficulty,
But the person who's discovered the truth.
Where to place their life,
Like a tree planted beside living water.
Like a pilgrim who knows the direction of the road.
The journey might still include hardship.
But the heart has found its home.
Let's listen again,
And this time rest with the words and notice the images that the psalm uses.
Psalm 128.
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord.
Who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands.
You shall be happy.
And it shall go well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.
Your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus,
The one who is blessed is the one who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be.
Upon Israel.
So did you notice some of those images there,
A table?
A home?
A harvest?
A gathered family.
Really ordinary images and I think that might be the point.
The presence of God isn't found in those extraordinary moments of being in the temple or bringing a sacrifice or letting off incense.
It's discovered in ordinary faithfulness,
Shared meals around a table,
Work.
Done with integrity.
Kindness that's offered without recognition,
The patience.
Given when no one notices,
The quiet prayers whispered in the early morning.
The Benedictine traditions always understood this.
The monastery doesn't separate the sacred from the ordinary.
Ora et labora,
Prayer and work.
And also communitas,
Community,
So shared meals,
Relationships.
And then,
Of course,
Benedict was very wise,
And so rest and recreation was also an important part of that.
All of these spaces though.
Can become places where we encounter God.
And so the question isn't just,
Where can I find God?
It's where am I willing to notice God is already present.
And maybe the Psalmist wants us to look again at the ordinary places of our life,
Our home,
Our work.
Our relationships,
Our responsibilities.
Could these places be?
Or even become.
Places and spaces where blessing flows.
Let's listen one more time to the text and this time receive the words.
As a blessing spoken over your own journey.
Psalm 128.
Happy is everyone who fears the Lord.
Who walks in his ways.
You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands.
You shall be happy.
And it shall go well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house.
Your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Thus,
The one who is blessed is the one who fears the Lord.
The Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
May you see your children's children.
Peace be.
Upon Israel.
God of blessing.
Open our eyes to the gifts already present in our lives.
Teach us to recognise holiness in ordinary places,
In our homes,
Work,
Relationships,
In the small acts of love that often go unseen.
Save us from chasing blessings that leave us empty.
Instead,
Teach us to walk your way,
To live with reverence.
To love generously,
To serve faithfully.
May our lives become places where your goodness takes root.
May our tables become places of welcome.
May our homes become places of peace.
May our ordinary days become filled with joy.
With the quiet presence of your grace.
And as we continue this pilgrimage,
May we discover that the blessed life.
Isn't life without struggle,
But a life lived close to you.
And may grace,
Peace and love be with us and go with us,
Every step of the way today and forever.
And always.
Until tomorrow,
My friends,
Grace and peace be with you.
