My eyes are awake before each watch of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.
Again today, I’m grateful for the accompanying reflection for this bit of Psalm 119. It’s from Eugene Peterson, author of The Message, and he reflects on the meaning of meditating on God’s word. He says God’s word is Torah, or divine revelation to god’s people, and we are the people to whom God’s way is revealed. It’s not words on a page to be studied, but rather Scripture is a living revelation of God’s abundance, grace, love, and mercy, and every time we read it, something new is revealed. Although sometimes it takes a little more effort on my part, I can agree whole-heartedly.
He continues that meditation isn’t just sitting cross-legged and humming. Rather it’s a visceral chewing on the words, speaking them, singing them, musing about them, talking about them. All of that can be meditation, if it’s genuine, and goes beyond the cognitive.
I think that’s why I’m enjoying and continuing to write in the mornings. Similar to preparing for a sermon, this time with Scripture allows me to meditate on the Word. I love listening or reading Morning Prayer, but that is less interactive. This, reading, chewing, and writing about God’s word, is way beyond my head, beyond an academic brain exercise. I’m quite sure if that’s all it was, I would have quit by now.
How else might I build in ways to truly meditate on God’s word, and to build it into a daily practice. I definitely fell into this practice. Maybe I’ll looking into walking meditation, or I’ve even seen a Christian yoga practice. Or given our upcoming move to Pittsburgh into a house that needs lots of love, maybe it’s figuring out how to refinish in a meditative way. Or . . . I suspect I won’t be writing every morning for the rest of my life. This morning, I’m thinking about how to begin to explore other ways of truly meditating on God’s word, in a chewy way.
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