March 2/First Thursday of Lent
On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul. ~ Ps 138.3
Call and Response
Many years ago, when I was a graduate student in a British university, I would wander of an afternoon into the college’s chapel for Evensong. With candles flickering against the damp dark of the declining day, the boys’ and men’s choir sang the psalm verses antiphonally. One side issued the call from the carved choir stall on the left: “O Sing unto the Lord a new song.” From their robed counterparts across the aisle, an immediate response: “for he hath done marvelous things.” The first group begins the thought: “With his own right hand, and with his holy arm.” The second group finishes it: “hath he gotten himself the victory.” (Perhaps our divided Congress might try antiphonal singing). For me, the connectedness and the reliable rhythm of this antiphonal dance reflect the intimacy and reliability of our relationship with God. Underlying all our prayers, whatever form they take, is the sure and certain knowledge that God loves us and will answer our call – not answering across the aisle as an equal, of course, but responding with unfailing love of the one who created us. This does not mean that our prayer will be granted exactly as we ask, but it does mean that God hears us, and will respond at the time and in the manner of his choosing. As 19th-century theologian and scholar John Henry Newman prayed, “God leads us by strange ways; we know He wills our happiness, but we neither know what our happiness is, nor the way. We are blind; left to ourselves we should take the wrong way; we must leave it to Him.” The answer may not always be what we are looking for, but God’s response to our call, if we allow it, will strengthen our souls and fortify our hearts.
All-hearing and all-loving LORD, Give me implicit and abiding trust that you will answer my prayers and save me with your right hand. Amen.
To hear the Wakefield Cathedral Choir chant Psalm 138 antiphonally, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzbkqqDh1Lg
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030223.cfm
