Sure of You

My soul clings to you; your right hand holds me fast. (Psalm 63:8}

You remember the characters, scenes, and conversations that A. Milne created for the lovely Hundred Acre Wood. Do you remember the one from Winnie the Pooh between the sweet friends, Piglet and Pooh:

    Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh?" he whispered.

    “Yes, Piglet?"

    "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand. "I just wanted to be sure of you.”

From when you were a child, with your parent, or at any age with a loved one, you probably know this feeling and this action. Taking the other’s hand, you just wanted to be sure of them. It is tender. It shows your need and the treasure that comes with love. The Psalmist gives voice to such a reality, within one’s relationship with God. By no means tame, God is nevertheless incalculably good. God is Almighty, but God is gracious and merciful…and abounding in steadfast love. (Joel 2:13)

There is a lot of solemnities that go with the feelings of Lent. There is a kind of austerity and sobriety that goes with crossing the desert, heading up toward Jerusalem and the things of Holy Week. Along with this, we claim the reality, intimacy, and tenderness in relationship to God, as we walk along. In our time between now and The Feast of the Resurrection let’s give attention to this relationship and this intimacy offered by Jesus.

In relationships this close, there is a double experience: we are hungry for the other and we are filled by the other. This is a blend of opposites. You could not be more full, but still, you long for more. It is good, rather than disorienting to endure this paradox. Two other verses from the psalm cited above, our psalm for Sunday, give expression to the double experience of satisfaction and hunger with God.

Psalm 63

1    O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *
      my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
      as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.

5   My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *
     and my mouth praises you with joyful lips.

In our soul’s encountering of enjoyment and longing for the Lord, our sharing in the divine life of Christ goes deeper. The deepening bond feeds us, and we are moved to feed others by the fruit Christ brings about through his work with us. The wider context of Scripture this Sunday expands this theme. Perhaps we will have time to go into it in the days ahead.

For now, let us tarry with God these Lenten days. Take the hand of the Master, for we want to be sure of the loving friend we have in Jesus.  Be sure of his presence, and lovingly say to the Savior, “My soul clings to you; your right-hand holds me fast.”