March 16/Fourth Tuesday of Lent
There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst, it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn. ~ Ps 46.5-6`
Peace has been a scarce commodity in our lives, especially in the past year. Whether it comes in the form of environmental degradation, religious turmoil, economic instability, civil unrest, or political upheaval (or all of the above), the world’s tumult at times threatens to engulf us. In our personal universes, too, conflict in relationships and crippling anxiety about the future may render serenity equally elusive. Where is that peace that passes understanding, we wonder, and how can we find it? The calm we seek lies — of course — in God. In his opening assurances that God will anchor us, the singer of Psalm 46 assembles a chain of sturdy nouns to make his point: God is our refuge, our strength, an ever-present help. We will need to grasp that divine anchor when the seas “churn” and “boil” (or, as the Hebrew conveys through a beautifully expressive verbal onomatopoeia, yéhému and yéḥəməru). Turmoil, disruption, and chaos whip up the waves all around us — then suddenly, unexpectedly, blessedly: peace. “There is a river,” the psalmist intones, leaving the roar and chop of the waves behind, “whose streams gladden the city of God.” God is present in this place, in its very center, protecting and stabilizing it from the threats that loom both within and without. The river’s calm flow carries away the frenzy, and no matter what may be going down in earthly cities, in the city of God the dawn comes bright and safe. Wherever God is – in the holy dwelling of the Most High, as the psalm has it, or deep within our hearts – the current of his love brings peace to a churning, boiling world.
O God our Anchor, Be in our midst, we pray, and quiet the tumult of our life’s wild, restless sea. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031621.cfm
To hear Jean-Philippe Rameau’s “Deus Noster Refugium,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU9S66qwgws
