Last night I
turned to the last prayers of the day, which are focused around a couple
readings from the Psalms and a Biblical passage. The night prayer in the monastery is called
Compline. When I visit a monastery, I
think it may be my favorite part of the day.
It “finishes” off the day of worship and work and the monks head to
their rooms and a night’s sleep.
When I visit
one of my favorite monasteries, Gethsemani in Kentucky, Compline comes at
7:30pm. It is not a long service. This is understandable when you realize the
monks will be up again and in the sanctuary at 3:15am! What’s interesting is that for much of the
year, the monks begin in the darkness and conclude in the darkness. I like Compline during those months when the
sun has already gone down and the monks and the visitors gather in the soft
lights for the last service. As the
service is ending, the lights are turned out and only one or two lights make
the exit possible. That truly does give
one a sense of peace for the night to come.
Of course, it
is not the same thing when I am sitting in my easy chair. I read the texts for Compline on my computer,
so the screen is brighter than any spot in a monastery would be. And when you are by yourself, it is not the
same as being with 60 monks and assorted visitors. But it is still significant for me to join in
spirit with the monks and be ready to welcome the night.
I appreciate
some monks somewhere choosing the readings for the various worship spots
throughout the day. It should not be
surprising that the Psalm themes for Compline focus on peace, on rest, and
protection from the Holy One as one gets ready to pass into the sleep
mode. I always laugh and think of the
child’s prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep…”
Perhaps Compline is the adult version of that!
One of the
Psalms I read for last night was Psalm 143.
Let me pick out a few lines from that Psalm to develop these
inspirational reflections. The Psalm is
a conversation between the Psalmist and God.
The Psalmist says, “I remember the days of old, I think about all your
deeds, I meditate on the works of your hands.” (143:5-6) I appreciate the reminder of the Psalmist
here that I, too, should take some time to think about the Divine Deeds, some
of which have come to me. I am thankful
for another day and the graces that come with it.
Some days are
better than others, but probably no day goes by without some form of
grace. I am grateful for friends and can
pray for those who make my life more difficult.
I hope they pray for me when I am a hassle rather than a helper! I want my day today to find me more graceful
and less grumpy. I want to bring peace
rather than blast things to pieces!
The Psalmist
meditates on the works of God’s hands.
It is easy to see this as an invitation to pay attention to nature. Even if we believe in some version of
evolution and hold somehow to God’s patient hand in the evolutionary process,
we can still gives thanks for the creative power and majesty of God’s
handiwork. Mountains may not have been
made in one day, but they are there nevertheless and no less amazing. Thanks be to God!
And then the
Psalmist moves to the line that gave me the title for this reflection. The Psalmist says, “I stretch out my hands to
you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” (143:6) This sentence conveys great imagery. Stretching out my hands is symbolic. It is symbolic of openness and desire. The outstretched hands, in effect, are saying,
“come to me” or “receive me.” The
outstretched hands are a petition for relationship.
Contrast this
image with arms folded across the chest and hands disappeared in those folded
arms. This symbolizes independence or,
even, defensiveness. It certainly is not
a request for relationship. I want to
spend more time today with hands and arms outstretched and less time defending
myself or my opinions.
The Psalmist
finishes that sentence by switching imagery.
The Psalmist says that the soul “thirsts” for God. Sense language is being used metaphorically. Everyone knows what it is like to be
thirsty. This is a good imagery to
convey the soul’s desire for God. And
the Psalmist adds one more piece to this imagery.
The soul’s
thirst is like parched land. Again in
days of drought, the imagery of parched land is powerful. We know what that looks like: hard, brittle,
lifeless, colorless and sad. So can a
soul be without God’s Presence. No
doubt, this is why the Biblical tradition so often uses water as the image of
Presence.
So Lord,
water me today. My soul thirsts for you.
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