First Sunday of Lent

Read Psalm 63

Blessing God

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands and call upon your name

~verses 1, 3-4

I often hear people say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” To me, what that says is something similar to this text — that there is a thirsting to know the divine God, and a realization that there is more to life. Just as we cannot survive without water, I believe that we cannot fully live without a relationship with God.

In this Lenten season, this text challenges us further, arguing that by being aware of the blessing of God’s steadfast love in our life, we also are called to bless God. How do we do that? The scripture explicitly lifts up worship and calling upon God in prayer, and I believe we also bless God each time we act as a vehicle for sharing God’s love in the world.

The season of Lent is a time of drawing nearer to God, and I hope and pray that we all re-evaluate our lives and find time to set aside to live out our love for God and our neighbors, not only during this Lenten season but for “as long as we live” – that we may live a life of blessing to God.

Prayer: O Holy Spirit, change us so that we may be more focused on the blessings we receive from our Almighty and Loving God, and work through us that we might better respond to your love in praise to you and in service to our neighbors. We ask this through the gift of your son, whom you sent so that we could be in relationship and more fully know of your amazing love and grace. Amen.

~Rev. Matthew McPhee