My soul is thirsting for you, my God

I have always loved Psalm 62 which begins, 'O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.' It is the Psalm for today's Sunday liturgy. What are the things you long for?

As humans we all have things we long for, communion with God and with one another, peace in our hearts and in the world, being at home in our own skin, to love and be loved. These few moments now can be an opportunity to be aware of what we long for and to allow God's grace to touch that longing and to receive it with grateful hearts. The longing maybe still there but somehow it is a longing shared with the one who knows us intimately.

The bridesmaids in the Gospel story taken from Matthew 25:1-13 were waiting and longing for the bridegroom to arrive. Some were prepared and some were unprepared. Both groups fell asleep because the bridegroom took a while to arrive but when the cry went out to say the bridegroom had arrived, go out to meet him, only half of them were able to do so. They had come with extra oil to keep their lamps burning. The others had to go off and buy extra.

What enables us to keep our lamps burning and to be prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom who comes to us in all kinds of ways and ultimately when we breathe our last. To live Christian lives is a daily response. It's almost like a daily top up that allows our lamps to keep burning. Our prayer, acts of love, support, encouragement, forgiveness, gratitude are for the here and now not for sometime in the future. It is very encouraging and inspiring to hear someone near death come to that sense of inner peace and acceptance and say, 'I'm ready to go.' It seems to me that resignation takes a daily response of letting go and trusting in the one who has always loved us and continues to love us to the end.

The song I have chosen for you today is a version of Psalm 62, 'O my God I long for you,' featured on the album, Truly Blessed

Blessings on your week