Friday, March 9, 2007
Lent Reading Day 15
The Voice of the Lord Psalm
Psalm 29

Voice...what power there is in it. When we pick up the phone and that instant in which we recognize the voice on the other end. The tension in anticipating if it will be friendly, that person that really gets to you, or the more-than-familar silence followed by a click and then a salesperson's voice. There is power in our voice - power to thunder over the brouhaha of a crowded room, the authority in a silent whisper, the soothing gentleness of a "i love you" when tucking a child in, the violence of verbal abuse littered with explectives, and the anxiety-inducing silence that comes when we expect or await a reply.



We're so inundated with noise, speaking, talking, chatterings, conference calls, ever-on radios and tvs, that we often no longer hear others. The well known cell phone marketing strategy asking, "Can you hear me now?" indirectly asserts that we tend to block everyone and everything out as white noise to be avoided. This ancient poem, called Psalm 29, speaks of the power of God's voice. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures God creates, redeems, recreates, heals, saves, and invites through the power of the divine voice. It's that voice and God's creative power in speaking that the psalmist celebrates in psalm 29. God speaks the universe and us into action - in creation, the call to Abraham, the revelation of the burning bush, the call to Joshua, in the falling of the walls of Jericho, and in the consecration of David as the king. We take that for granted...I know I do. I expect God to speak - and if I miss it for God to leave me a voice mail or something so that I can know what I missed. We're so busy that we barely hear each other, let alone are centered enough to recognize when God is speaking and then listen with all our being.

The Methodist and UCC churches have the campaign saying that "God is still speaking..." It seems that the problem is that our reception is bad (does God need of more cell phone towers?) or we're simply unable, or unwilling, to listen. During Lent this year I'm taking on the spiritual discipline of "centering prayer" seeking to spend more time just listening. (Centering prayer is more about listening to God and sitting in God's presence than talking or offering verbal prayers). If you want to try an online prayer practice check out "sacred space."

What are you doing, being, or envisioning in order to be a better listener of God's Voice?