Second Sunday Ordinary

Second Sunday Ordinary
January 16, 2005

"I have waited, waited for the LORD, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God... Sacrifice or sin offerings you did not desire... then said I, "Behold I come... your law is within my heart." (Psalm 40)

Tradition says that the psalms were written by King David. All of them together represent Israel's historical experience and intimate relationship with God. Our ancestors in the faith, Jewish and Christian, knew them "by heart". David here first waits for inspiration and then is blessed with another song from Israel's heart.
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How often we have experienced "waiting for the Lord". I often think about the state of violence and chaos in our world, the hundreds of thousands devastated by natural disasters, the millions past and present, victims of human aggression and ignorance, people I know who suffer from painful illnesses, addictions, untimely losses, anxiety and depression. I wonder, where is God and how long will we have to wait to be delivered from all this. Aren't we, individually and collectively supposed to be rescued and healed if we just believe and worship more and better, or "pray harder"?

Then I read this beautiful passage from Psalm 40, and am reminded that God has already heard our cries for relief even though it may come from another quarter than we expected,: in the form of a joyful heart. We want deliverance from pain and death, the Most High offers us something more enduring, divine life within us, our lives in God. We are given this regardless of how "hard" or distracted we pray, regardless of how "pure" or imperfect our worship and faith. We discover, as David did, that the divine law is written within our hearts, the law of love and generosity. What we have been waiting for his already here.

I was personally reminded of this just the other day while enjoying the afternoon watching football and golf with a very close friend. He, like many others these days, greet me with an affectionate kiss on my head. I also thought about weekly visits from my son, and reports from him about new inspirations in his songwriting career. I recalled frequent conversations with my younger daughter about her new ideas for dramatic improvisations. I realized how often these people close to me inspire me, and how it puts on a "new song into my heart". I think of all the gentle touches, physical, emotional and spiritual, up close and from a distance, from those I love and who love me. These connections are certainly the Most High responding to our deepest longings to be valued and loved exactly as we are. I wondered again what I had been "waiting for".