March 22/Fifth Friday of Lent
I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,
My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! ~ Ps 18.2-3
Rock, fortress, and stronghold. Such rugged metaphors befit a psalm that is said to be an expression of gratitude to God after a military victory. But what does it mean for us to think of God in these terms? After all, the battles we fight in our lives do not usually bring us into contact with swords or shields, fortresses or strongholds. Some of us may not respond to military metaphors at all, feeling them out of place when talking about love and faith. And yet we struggle every day in a world that seems beset by chaos, swamped by troubles, and irretrievably broken: or as Jeremiah cries out in today’s first reading, “terror on every side!” When we feel engulfed by what the psalmist calls “the breakers of death,” or enmeshed by “the cords of the nether world,” we do have a safe place to turn, of course, and that place is God. He is our sheltering sanctuary: as steady as a rock, as protective as a fortress, as immovable as a stronghold. And the path to that place of spiritual safety lies through prayer. Praying every day, whether we take time during the morning commute or can devote an hour to prayerful meditation at home, allows us to find our balance in the presence of God’s love. But a word of caution: this refuge is not intended to be a permanent destination, at least not this side of heaven. Rather, it is a stopping point for restoration and renewal in which we gather our scattered selves up in the healing light of God’s grace, and head back out into the world to fight the good fight for another day.
Lord of strength and peace, Surround me with your protecting love amid the world’s strife. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032224.cfm
To hear the Choir of King’s College (Cambridge) sing Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0132OxXRdA
