March 7/Third Wednesday of Lent
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. ~ Ps 147.13
Most of us are not very good at setting boundaries in our lives. Some find it difficult to delineate work time versus family time: we answer emails, read work-related documents, or take phone calls at night and over the weekend. Others struggle to set aside time for exercise or reading or seeing friends when shouldered with the responsibilities of child-rearing. Sometimes we fail to establish firm emotional limits and end up feeling taken advantage of by others. And with the Smartphone now functioning as an indispensable anatomical appendage, it is harder than ever to draw lines, to turn off the noise, to say “Enough.” We become vulnerable to all sorts of incursions from the outside. Is it any wonder that we feel distracted and besieged? Enter the psalmist, who today proclaims the virtues of boundaries. Among the many actions for which God is praised in this psalm – blessing children, exercising the creative power of his word in the world, giving Israel a set of commandments by which to live an ethical life – here he is lauded for protecting the inhabitants of Jerusalem by strengthening the bars of their gates. If we allow him entry into our lives, he will dwell within us and help us defend ourselves from the sound and the fury that signify nothing. We will find the fortitude to unplug the devices, to put aside the work, to be present to others face to face, not screen to screen. In the safety of our heart’s quiet, we will find the space to connect with God in moments of prayerful peace.
Lord, Give me the wisdom and strength I need to establish appropriate and life-giving boundaries in my life. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030718.cfm
To listen to “Jesus, Be a Fence Around Me,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce7LQfY0d30
