Musings on the Daily Lectionary - Presence

I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever.

Psalm 145:1-2

Each day the lectionary opens with morning psalms and concludes with evening psalms. But I must confess that I often skim over these. Some of the same psalms appear regularly so I've often seen them very recently, but I don't think that accounts for my tendency to ignore them. And I think my tendency is more pronounced with psalms like today's.

I don't know if it is the result of being Presbyterian, but I often read scripture with an eye to being informed. I want to find out more about God and faith and what it means for me to live a life of faith. There is much to be gained from reading the Bible in this manner, but it does tend to reduce faith to having enough information and the correct understanding of that information. But words like those above are simply about praise. They don't give information about God so much as they are a faithful poet's response to God.

I once heard a church consultant (Roy Oswald, I believe) speaking about mainline churches. And he said something along the lines of, "People come to us seeking an experience of God, and we give them information about God." Maybe I would do well to spend a bit less time trying to figure God out and a bit more time being open to God's presence. Maybe then I would find it easier to join the psalmist in praising God.

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