Day 12, Narthex Door – Pastor Dave
I recently led a devotion for the church session on Psalm 84. In this chapter, the psalmist writes about longing to be in God’s House. “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God” (Psalm 84:1-2, NRSV.) I asked the elders when they felt like this? For some, attending worship is habit. For others, it’s a deep need to rediscover a long-forgotten hope. Many come to church to connect with friends. There’s never a wrong reason to enter into the House of God. I reminded the session of our time apart during the global pandemic. It’s hard to believe it’s already been five years.
Do you remember a longing to get back into the sanctuary? I know many of us ached for the time when we could join together in worship. I think this resembles the kind of longing the psalmist felt when writing today’s reading. There is a longing in all of us to experience the unending love of the Divine.
There is a scripture verse painted above the narthex doors. “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD” (Psalm 122:1, NRSV.) It’s not just another beautiful psalm, it is an invitation to welcome this time in church with delight. Routines can become habits, and habits can devolve into ruts. Let us commit never to fall into this dead-end grind where church isn’t special. I love the open doors we have here at St. Mark, and I am thankful for the standing reminder to enter God’s gates with thanksgiving in our hearts. What excites you about coming to in-person or online worship? What gives you hope and joy?
“Welcoming God, we thank you for the open doors you place before us. May we enter this and every day with hopeful anticipation of what you plan to reveal to us. Renew in us a longing spirit for corporate worship. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Three-In-One. Amen.”
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