Tuesday, September 9
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne; love and truth go before your face.
—Psalm 89:14
What it turned out to be was what one participant lightly referred to as “The Woodstock of Spirituality. ” For three days, we heard inspiring talks, provocative questions, and brilliant expositions about Mysticism, Empowerment and Resistance, and we also found ourselves reconnected to the ringing call of Scripture, like this psalm:
Righteousness and justice are the foundations of God’s throne.
We learned that when we see the world through God’s eyes, the way mystics do, we become empowered to resist whatever stands in the way of God’s vision for the world.
It seems to me that some of us who concentrate on spirituality lose track of that imperative. When I spend all my time on internal spiritual matters, I tend to lose sight of what my spirituality should lead me to DO or to SAY in pursuit of righteousness and justice.
The Portland seminar was like
plunging into cold water: startling, somewhat painful, and ultimately
reviving. It opened my eyes, and my heart and mind to the urgency of
looking around at my community, speaking up, and being determined to try to make
changes. I am thankful for that experience.
I am also thankful for the
powerful words of Scripture, like those in this psalm, because they remind me of
the ancient call of God to all of God’s people. The prophet Micah says it
best: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require
of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your
God?” (Micah 6: 2)
Help us, O God, to see the world through your eyes, and to have courage to live, speak, and act as though we did. Amen.
The Signposts for September are written by Margaret Jones and originally appeared on explorefaith in 2005.
