The Lord himself watches over you
During the last three days I have walked across Mull and met not one person coming the other way. There has been drenching rain and ever present Scottish mist (and not much difference between the two). There have also been warm breezes and spells of sun. But whatever the weather, Mull is magnificent. Forty miles of incredible valleys and streams in full-spate, waterfalls and almost inaccessible shorelines, awesome caves and flat calm lochs reflecting the mountain vistas almost perfectly - as if the mirror was as true as the view.
During this pilgrimage I am attempting to learn the Psalms of Ascent off by heart. These are the pilgrim psalms said to have been uttered by people approaching Jerusalem for one of the great festivals of Judaism. Psalm 120, with its concern for truth, home and peace, I just have not got to grips with, yet. But it is interesting how frustration with lies, a sense of exile and a culture not seeking peace, spurs the pilgrim to head to Jerusalem. I will persist in learning it.
But yesterday, in amongst the hills between Loch Buie and Loch Don, I found the rhythm of Psalm 121 gave me great comfort. ‘The Lord will not suffer your foot to stumble,’ was of course an apt encouragement for a pilgrim. But it was verse 5 that blew me away. After repeating the psalm some eight or nine times, it suddenly hit me: ‘The Lord himself watches over you.’ Further on verse 7 is also deeply moving: ‘The Lord will keep you from evil; it is the Lord who keeps your soul.’ I was alone on this grassy valley track tucked between significant peaks. The main road snaked some 200 yards away. It was just me, the butterflies, midges and my tears, which flowed like the mountain streams all around. I can’t yet fully explain the tears, other than sometimes when knowledge moves from the head to the heart, tears are the pathway.
Gerard Hughes, in his book In Search of a Way, say this about pilgrimming on foot: ‘In walking it is as though ideas in the head are shaken up and some start travelling downwards to the heart, where they become full-blooded knowing, which sets off a physical reaction.’
I wonder if you have had this experience, too?
Last night I was rather annoyingly awake between 4 - 5am so I chose to listen to this piece of music, several times, and it brought me comfort and peace, and I returned to sleep. On waking I thought I could share it with you, Paul, knowing you are wanting to learn the Psalms of Ascent, and then I read your blog for today, with your own profound reflection on Ps121. Maybe we find the Bible verses that are easier to learn are the ones we need to hear at a particular time in our lives.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsYeTCpVwx0
"Tears are a gift from God", a faithful member of our church used to say to me. A gift of healing and wholeness. A gift of love and grace.
Walking to the altar, to kneel, and receive bread and wine, is where I can experience gentle tears. In the company of fellow pilgrims, we walk together, in our brokenness and in need of healing. We come empty handed and always receive abundantly of God's mercy and love. Words cannot express this experience of union with God and with one another. Of knowing how deeply God loves us. And tears flow as an expression of our gratitude and our love for the Lord.
May the mountains and the beautiful Scottish landscape continue to transform the landscape of your heart knowing with confidence that the Lord watches over you.
Grateful for your reflection and for the link to this lilting setting of Ps121.
ReplyDeleteThe quote from Gerard Hughes definitely resonated, though I’ve had that experience more walking in the countryside than the city! I wonder if where we walk also helps- when we’re in a wild, open landscape and we perhaps feel more vulnerable or exposed than we normally would, we’re more receptive (or have less resistance) to the ‘head to heart journey’ that’s going on in us.
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