Dwelling in the house of the Lord

One thing have I asked of the LORD; one thing I seek;*  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life – Ps. 27:5

Psalm 27 is one of my favorite psalms. It talks of how the Lord protects the psalmist from his enemies. It longs for the day when the psalmist can dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. It speaks of how the Lord will sustain the psalmist in times of trouble.

When I have found myself in times of trouble or distress or discomfort, I have often turned to this psalm for strength and comfort.

There are times when Verse 5 is more on point than other times. Sunday mornings when I arrive before anyone else and the church is quiet, with the morning sun streaming through the Resurrection Window, I will sit for a minute and think, “I would love to dwell in this house all the days of my life.”

Christmas Day is another time where Verse 5 stands out. It's the first service after the Christmas Eve Mass, it's quiet, and the faint scent of incense is still hanging in the air. In that moment the nave looks and smells like I imagine what the throne room of God looked like to Isaiah (Is. 6:1-4) or John (Rev. 4).

Verse 5 stands out for me every Sunday morning when we are gathered as the people of God and we join our voices with angels and archangels as we sing, “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.”

The flip side of this verse is not only a desire to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, but a desire to escape. In reading this psalm there is a plea from the psalmist to have God remove him from the troubles of the world. That desire to escape the troubles of the world has been around a long time. It shows up in this psalm. It shows up at the Transfiguration when Peter says to Jesus, “Let us build three dwellings: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” It shows up today when people have built a whole religion around the rapture.

But we are not called to escape this world. Jesus never called his disciples to follow him into the desert and disappear. The rapture is a theological fantasy developed by misunderstanding scripture. Jesus didn't let Peter build those dwellings, and they all had to go down the mountain into the midst of people.

Later in Ps. 27 the psalmist writes, “You speak in my heart and say, “Seek my face.”* Your face, LORD, will I seek.”

May we always remember that our faith is not calling us to escape from the world, but to live in the world while continually seeking the face of God.

Todd+