Wednesday in Holy Week

Any other Episcopalians and other Anglicans out there who find that there are just too many words in Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer? At least when one prays them alone. The mind and heart want to stay with a few of the words, moving into what the ancient monks called lectio divina and our contemporary tradition still names that way: holy reading, pondering the text with the help of the Holy Spirit, letting it sit. Or chewing on it and digesting it, if you prefer that metaphor. Dorothee Sölle used to say that you should have a Psalm for breakfast every day. Sometimes the Psalm is food enough.

The juxtaposition of texts and prayers is, of course, part of Morning Prayer, and it is useful as well, and a challenge. Because, inevitably, there will be contradictions, disparate insights, pieces that are obscure or hard to digest.

Perhaps wanting to stay with one text speaks not only of the pull of the text itself but of the crowded busy-ness of our days. Time and focus are in such rare supply. It feels like a luxury to spend time with the Scriptures, or with any kind of holy text, in quiet conversation, even if the content of the conversation is sorrowful or disturbing.

It shouldn’t be a luxury. Contemplation is more and more counter-cultural.

Today the juxtaposition of texts (and I am being selective, since I am snipping off some of the Epistle and there is also the Gospel) is a rich one. The texts seem contradictory or of a different flavor (and beware facile OT/NT dichotomizing! this is not the point) but both speak to me, and now I sit with the juxtaposition. (I’m also procrastinating from a stack of academic paperwork, can you tell?) (Dear brother (MadPriest, I imagine you will find the juxtaposition apt. Mad solidarity and blessings fly your way.)

The Psalm for the morning (Psalm 55):

1
Hear my prayer,O God; *do not hide yourself from my petition.
2
Listen to me and answer me; *I have no peace, because of my cares.
3
I am shaken by the noise of the enemy *and by the pressure of the wicked;
4
For they have cast an evil spell upon me *and are set against me in fury.
5
My heart quakes within me, *and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
6
Fear and trembling have come over me, *and horror overwhelms me.
7
And I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! *I would fly away and be at rest.
8
I would flee to a far-off place *and make my lodging in the wilderness.
9
I would hasten to escape *from the stormy wind and tempest."
10
Swallow them up, O Lord;confound their speech; *for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
11
Day and night the watchmen make their rounds upon her walls, *but trouble and misery are in the midst of her.
12
There is corruption at her heart; *her streets are never free of oppression and deceit.
13
For had it been an adversary who taunted me,then I could have borne it; *or had it been an enemy who vaunted himself against me,then I could have hidden from him.
14
But it was you, a man after my own heart, *my companion, my own familiar friend.
15
We took sweet counsel together, *and walked with the throng in the house of God.
16
Let death come upon them suddenly;let them go down alive to the grave; *for wickedness is in their dwellings, in their very midst.
17
But I will call upon God, *and the LORD will deliver me.
18
In the evening, in the morning, and at noonday,I will complain and lament, *and he will hear my voice.
19
He will bring me safely back from the battle waged against me; *for there are many who fight me.
20
God, who is enthroned of old, will hear me and bring them down; *they never change; they do not fear God.
21
My companion stretched forth his hand against his comrade; *he has broken his covenant.
22
His speech is softer than butter, *but war is in his heart.
23
His words are smoother than oil, *but they are drawn swords.
24
Cast your burden upon the LORD,and he will sustain you; *he will never let the righteous stumble.
25
For you will bring the bloodthirsty and deceitful *down to the pit of destruction, O God.
26
They shall not live out half their days, *but I will put my trust in you.
24
Cast your burden upon the LORD,and he will sustain you; *he will never let the righteous stumble.
25
For you will bring the bloodthirsty and deceitful *down to the pit of destruction, O God.
26
They shall not live out half their days, *but I will put my trust in you.


And from the Epistle (Philippians chapter 4):

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


I assume many of you Episcopal readers know the Daily Office site (many thanks for the skill and ministrations of the holy webby people at the Mission of Saint Clare), but just in case you don’t, click the link.