Wednesday, May 1, 2024
“Birds find
nooks and crannies in your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. They
lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we
worship… How blessed they are to live
and sing there!”? (Psalm 84: 3 -4, The Message Bible)
Recently, I have discovered another.
Our bird feeder is just outside
the front window of our living room. It didn’t get all that much use over the
winter. I had purchased a squirrel-proof feeder and I feared that maybe it was
also bird proof. But over the Spring, it has become a popular place. On the
last few Sunday mornings, as we worshipped at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, there
were grackles, cardinals, chickadees, juncos and even a pair of purple finches.
It was quite the entertaining sideshow – an affirmation of God’s beautiful Creation,
and in some ways, just as much a part of some good worship as a good sermon or
a poignant prayer, or wonderful choral music; birds singing their songs in the place
where we worship. Sort of like living stained glass.
Psalm 84 is a praise hymn. The poet
is overjoyed in finding himself in the sanctuary of God. “I’ve always longed
to live in a place like this; always dreamed of a room in your house, where I
could sing for joy to God-alive!” (v.2, TMB) Although not used here, the
word ‘sanctuary’ seems implied; a place of safety, beauty, peace, a protected space,
a sacred and holy place. “How lovely is your dwelling place.” (v.1, NLT)
Even the birds find safe refuge
under its eaves. Perhaps, Jesus had this Psalm in mind when he said, “Look
at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your
heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they
are?” (Matthew 6: 26, NLT)
The Sanctuary is a safe place
for the smallest, the weakest, the most vulnerable, the defenceless, the most
needy, the “least of us”. It is not the place where we get to vent our prejudices,
voice our judgements, express our superiority over others, shut the windows and
doors on those who seek our welcome and acceptance. Sanctuary should say to
people, “You are safe here while under our roof. No harm can come to you.”
Although I want honest and authentic
worship, I don’t want to have guilt, shame and sin heaped upon me relentlessly.
That is oppressive and falls short of the Good News of Love, Hope, Grace and Mercy.
When I come to church with my warts, sins and perplexities, I need the Balm of
Gilead to soothe the sores, the stings, the pains, the burdens. For the hour in
which I worship, I am needing the compassion of God to rest upon my soul and
spirit. I need to have my empty spirit and mind fed with the truth and nourishment
of the Good News that comes with knowing Jesus Christ. I need to come under the
church’s roof and be invited to renew
and refresh my relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
If I actually showed up to be in
church in person, in my PJs and slippers, a cup of coffee in hand, looking
bedraggled and grumpy, my prayer would be that the sanctuary would take over, I
would be welcomed, I would be fed with the Word of God, and would leave the place filled with joy,
peace and hope. “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31, NLT)
“God sees the little sparrow
fall; it meets his tender view. If God so loves the little birds, I know He
loves me too.”
Dale
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