Scripture – Psalm 95 NRSVUE
1 O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6 O come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the sheep of his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your ancestors tested me
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.”
11 Therefore in my anger I swore,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
From Rev. Heather Leffler
The Psalmist invites us into the joy of worshipping our Creator – the one who made the mountains, the seas, and all that we see. We are reminded that we are the people of God’s pasture, cared for like sheep by a loving shepherd.
Yet the psalm also reminds us that our hearts can become heavy. We carry regrets, fears, and doubts that make it difficult to trust that God is truly with us.
The Israelites knew this struggle in the wilderness. When they could not find water at Rephidim, they quarrelled with Moses and questioned whether God was with them. Even after all they had seen, fear and uncertainty took hold. When we read this story, we sometimes imagine God as angry.
Then we hear the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4. She comes to the well at noon, perhaps hoping to avoid the whispers of her neighbours. Yet when she meets Jesus, she is not met with judgment but with understanding. His acceptance frees her, and she runs back to her community to invite others to “come and see.”
Jesus invites us to see ourselves and others through the lens of love, forgiveness, and grace. When we trust that we are loved just as we are, our hearts can open again — and we are able to worship with joy and share that love with the world.
Contemplation and Conversation
What might you need to let go of to worship God with joy today?
Prayer
Loving Creator, you formed the mountains and the seas, and you call us your people.
Help us release the burdens that weigh on our hearts.
Open us to your love, forgiveness, and grace, so that we may worship with joy
and share your love with the world. Amen.
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