As I roamed the ruins beside San Francisco el Grande
Church in Antigua, Guatemala, on a sunny morning, I decided to climb a set of
stairs. By the time I reached the top of the stairs I was short of breath from
the heat and the climb as I stepped into a panorama that took what remained of
my breath away. Mountains on three sides and the ruins of the church on the
remaining side, and I thought, God, you are too wonderful!
Such are the words of the psalmist. Our God is too
wonderful for our comprehension!
“I waited and waited,” the writer of Psalm 40
begins. He has been experiencing a time of trial and wonders, will it ever end.
We here, in Michigan, in the midst of a seemingly endless winter might well
ask, will spring ever arrive? What does it mean to wait patiently for God?
We don’t know what was afflicting the writer of this
psalm, we only know that his patience was rewarded. God put a new song in his
mouth (3); God gave him reason to praise him. Perhaps it was the restoration to
health of one long sick. Perhaps it was the gift of spring after a long winter.
Or perhaps it was a change of attitude that allowed the writer to realize how
truly blessed he was. Sometimes this is the greatest change of all. We can
change our circumstances but if we don’t change our attitude about those
circumstances, to what avail is it? We carry with us the baggage of our past.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord (4), the
writer tells us. His trust isn’t on the things of this world that can rust or
fade away but on the Lord who is solid and real, whose thoughts and deeds are
too wonderful for us to comprehend (5).
The writer goes on to tell us that God doesn’t ask
for burnt offerings and sacrifices, he only asks that we do his will, a hard
task, and yet to do God’s will is the delight of the writer (8). The writer
just has to break forth into praise (9), as I had to break forth into praise
before the wonder of God. He speaks of God’s faithfulness and steadfast love
(11).
Then the psalm shifts to a cry for help. While it
appears that there are two different psalms that have been joined together,
there was a reason for this. Convinced of God’s steadfast love, we may then be
put to the test. We never remain too long in any one state but are led through
different stages in this journey of life. These moments of praise and awe before
our God are but a taste of what is to come. We do not remain on the mountain top
but we hold onto those moments to help us get through when back in the valley
of tears.
In the Catholic Church, during the season of Lent,
as we reflect on Jesus’ suffering and death, we are also reminded of his glory
with the reading of the Transfiguration on the mountain top on the second
Sunday. We need those mountain top moments.
I could not remain amidst the mountains of Antigua
forever but thank God for those moments for they sustain us. In the end, let us
join with the psalmist in saying, “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in
you; may those who love your salvation say continually, ‘Great is the Lord!’”
(16) The psalm ends as it began, with waiting, “do not tarry, O my God!” (17b)
We spend our life, waiting for our God, but oh,
those moments when God is present! Have you had any mountain top moments? I would
love to hear them.
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