Another Pleasant Austin Sunday

Sunday afternoons are little packets of goodness from God, a time of stillness before the wacky entropy of the workweek ensues. Perhaps this is why I am somewhat cranky if I have a commitment on Sunday afternoon; I value the luxurious freedom of Sunday and I want to do what I want to do, dammit!

Which is why, when my good friends called and invited me on an excursion to ToyJoy and BookPeople, I accepted, even though it meant blowing off a prior (and admittedly, less fun) commitment.

Bookstores are the Sunday afternoons of the retail world. I love the sensory experience of meandering through bookstores, how the lingering scents of incense, coffee, ink, and paper comingle in a perichoretical dance (to borrow/steal a phrase from theologian Karl Barth). Books, once considered a luxury because of their rarity, are no longer a precious commodity. Rather, in today's society, books and the stores which peddle them are a symbol of the luxury of free time, symbols of glorious "Sunday afternoon." In our frantic, frenetic American lives, we often do not prioritize reading time. I lament this loss

I picked up an interesting book from the bargain bin at BookPeople and I am convinced that my finding it was no coincidence. The book is a Zen inspired re-interpretation of the psalms and I was most intrigued as I am both fascinated and inspired by Eastern thought and philosophy. To see if the book would be worth buying, I turned to my favorite Psalm (no. 121) and was moved profoundly by its message. Now, I have read Psalm 121 dozens of times, but it is always a blessing to hear scripture in a fresh voice. For your own perusal, I have copied the Psalm below:

Psalm 121

I lift my eyes to the mountain peak--
Where does my help come from?
It comes from you
Maker of heaven and earth
Who holds my foot firm on the path up
Who's constantly present
Everywhere aware

Look!
With you there's no obscurity
Nothing is dim, asleep, inert
To those who question and struggle
You respond, keep hold, give cover
So that by day the sun won't burn
Nor by night the moon mesmerize

You guard against evil
Enfold and reveal the soul

Guard my arrival
Secure my departure--
Now:

Always


I was particulary moved by the section that was interpreted as thus: "To those who question and struggle, You [God] respond, keep hold, cover." Lately I have been struggling, with Hebrew, as well as other issues, personal and otherwise. And I think this is why Psalm 121 will always be my favorite, because it reminds me that when we question and struggle, God will always respond. God "guides [our] arrival" and "secures our departure," therefore, we shall not fear! Naturally, it is not easy to keep the faith, but the wonder behind God's grace is that God will continue to watch, guard, keep, regardless if we have faith in God or not.

So my charge to my brothers and sisters who are struggling: Look to the mountain! See that help comes from the one who made heaven and earth! We will be kept, we will be guarded, for our God is constantly present and everywhere aware.