A Thousand Hallelujahs

Today is Sunday, the twentieth of February, 2022, in the seventh week of Ordinary Time.

May the peace of Christ rain down on you today.

Day 23, 355

It was an interesting day, yesterday, at the library. Not a bad day, by any means, but not ordinary. We are normally not fully-staffed on Saturdays, because there aren’t usually any programs for the children or anything like that. So there’s normally, like one assistant librarian and two aides in circulation.

Well, the assistant that was scheduled for yesterday is sometimes afflicted with migraines, and she woke up with one yesterday. Sometimes, she will make it in later, when she gets some relief, but that never happened, yesterday. So it was just the other aide and me. But we got through it fine. Debra, the other aide, is well-seasoned in circ process and procedure, having worked there seventeen years, so she knows pretty much everything to know about that department. And we both know the things that have to be done every day. There are a few “off-desk” tasks that didn’t get done, yesterday, but those are not absolute essentials. We took turns clearing the book drops and pulling holds for patrons, and the day was fine.

I will say that I processed at least six new library cards, yesterday, which is, I think, a record for me. And I love giving people library cards. At the end of the day, we had to move a bunch of furniture off of carpeted areas, because the carpet was getting cleaned last night, so I helped with that, as well. The funny thing is, that, in spite of all that, the day seemed to crawl buy.

Today, we are zooming for our church gathering, and I’m not going to be finished with this by the time we begin. I managed to sleep until after 8:00 this morning, which is very nice, for a change. I don’t think we have any other plans for the day, other than trimming my beard/hair, at some point.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS

"O Lord,
you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing:
Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift,
which is love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtue,
without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you.
Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and for ever.
Amen."
(Collect for the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, Book of Common Prayer)

Sing GOD a brand-new song! 
Earth and everyone in it, sing! 
Sing to GOD—worship GOD! 
Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea, 
Take the news of his glory to the lost, 
News of his wonders to one and all! 
For GOD is great, 
and worth a thousand Hallelujahs. 
(Psalms 96:1-4 MSG)

Today I am grateful:

1. for grapes and cantaloupe (and other fruit, too)
2. for Velveeta cheese and Rotel and Fritos
3. for puppies and kittens
4. for the amazing staff that I work with at Hurst Public Library
5. for a thousand Hallelujahs

They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
(Acts 2:46-47 MSG)

As author Luke continues the story of Jesus, he is the only one of the original four Gospel writers who does so. “Luke makes it clear that these Christians he wrote about were no more spectators of Jesus than Jesus was a spectator of God – they are in on the action of God, God acting in them, God living in them. Which also means, of course, in us.”

Because of the lives of these disciples, we seen about midway through the book,

And this Message of salvation spread like wildfire all through the region.
(Acts 13:49 MSG)

When we wonder why we don’t see the kind of Holy Spirit power in our churches today, we might consider the number of people who are satisfied with being mere spectators.

(From Symphony of Salvation, by Eugene H. Peterson)

Sing to God, sing praises to his name; 
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; 
his name is the LORD; 
exult before him! 
(Psalms 68:4 ESV)

But I will sing of your strength;
 I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. 
For you have been to me a fortress 
and a refuge in the day of my distress. 
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, 
for you, O God, are my fortress, 
the God who shows me steadfast love. 
(Psalms 59:16-17 ESV)

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; 
I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 
(Psalms 104:33 ESV)

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, 
and the prisoners were listening to them, 
and suddenly there was a great earthquake, 
so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. 
And immediately all the doors were opened, 
and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 
(Acts 16:25-26 ESV)

Today’s prayer word is a good one, and one that I have been working on for years.

Simplicity.

Irish writer and poet, Thomas Moore, is quoted as saying, “The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.”

We, as humans, we tend to complicate things, don’t we? The writer of this reading, identified only as “Julie,” speaks of planning a “simple” dinner with friends, which quickly becomes more and more complicated, in the planning process. But, she says, she needs to remember that “freedom and beauty are found in simplicity.”

I keep being drawn back to that bit from Brother Andrew where he insisted that something as mundane as washing dishes is “prayer.” I went for a walk one afternoon, and was drawn closer to the Lord simply through the interaction with nature, having a great experience just watching a stream flow under a bridge on which I was standing.

I long for more of this simplicity, and it is only my own fault that I don’t experience it more. I mean, seriously . . . all I would have to do is go out and sit in my back yard for a while and be silent and alone, just contemplating the Lord and His Word.

Father, I thank You for all that You do and have done and will do in our lives. I am thankful that You have put it in my heart to not be just a spectator in Your kingdom. There is more that I could be doing to participate, though, so I’m not resting on any accomplishments. Show me where I can do better and act more faithfully.

I praise You for the songs. I thank You for the strength and power that comes in singing Your praises, those “thousand hallelujahs” that can issue forth from the mouths of Your saints. In fact, I wait in great anticipation to be part of that scene depicted in Revelation where the millions of saints sing praises to You, saints from every nation, tribe, and tongue. I pray that You open my heart, open my mouth, and loosen my tongue, that I might sing more praises to You.

Show me more ways toward simplicity, Father, in all that I do. Help me to not complicate things, but work toward simplifying them. Show me the simplicity in the everyday tasks that I do, and the value that they provide my soul.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Grace and peace, friends.