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MAKING A HOME ON THE ALTAR: Reflecting on Psalm 84

November 18, 2016 By Sarah Christmyer 3 Comments

Sometime, if you get the chance, stand near the walls of the Temple Mount in old Jerusalem and listen. It’s surprisingly quiet, maybe because for the most part, the tumult of daily life goes on below this high point of the city. Listen and you will hear them: birds that have nested in the walls.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at thy altars, O Lord of hosts,
    my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in thy house,
    ever singing thy praise!. (Psalm 84:3-4)

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The birds are at the Western Wall as well, nestled into cracks above the folded intentions like so many prayers preparing to fly to heaven.

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western-wall

 

How lovely is thy dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts! …
blessed is the man who trusts in thee! 
(Psalm 84:1, 12)

“Lord of hosts” is the name given to God who leads the armies of heaven (“hosts” in Hebrew is tsaba, which means army, war, or warfare). Read Psalm 84 carefully.  Four times, God is addressed by this name. But just as the quiet on the temple mount today can belie the noise below, the stillness and joy brought by the Lord of hosts in Psalm 84 keeps enemies at bay.

The psalm is full of joy yet conflict, physical or otherwise, is in the background. Why else call repeatedly on the Lord of the heavenly armies? Why else speak of the strength he gives, and his shield? At the center of the psalm, men on pilgrimage go through “the valley of Baca” — the valley of “tears” — yet they go “from strength to strength” in God. In spite of their distress they find water, refreshment, and hope.

Back to the birds in Psalm 84: they find their homes in God’s altars, in the very place of sacrifice. There is no other reason for an altar, except for sacrifice . . . and there the swallow finds a place “where she may lay her young.”

Wow. I have images of pagans laying children in the burning arms of Moloch — yet this is a far different picture. This is a safe place, a nest: a home.

When our third child was baptized, the priest had us lay him on the altar, offering him to God. I thought of Psalm 84 then. The paradox of it all: that only when we give ourselves and those we love to God, do we truly receive them back from him. It is in the sacrifice — in giving all to him — that we find rest and shelter, strength, protection, home. And when we live under the shadow of the Cross and Christ’s sacrifice, like those birds on that altar, God lifts us above the tumult of the world and gives us peace.

 

© 2016 Sarah Christmyer

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

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YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THESE POSTS:

Rocking at the Wailing Wall (on leaving prayer intentions in the Western Wall of the Temple Mount)

2nd Sunday of Lent: Covenant with Abraham (on offering our own son on the altar at baptism)

 

pray daily with the psalms

Filed Under: Scripture Reflection

Comments

  1. Theresa Haggerty says

    November 18, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    Thank you so much! This is my favorite psalm. I love your phrasing of “nesting” in safety.

  2. Arlita Winston says

    November 20, 2016 at 1:15 pm

    Beautiful interpretation, Sarah! This passage became such a comfort to me when I was undergoing chemo-therapy and didn’t expect to live. I was more in sorrow for my family than I was for myself. I wrote in the margin of my Bible, by this passage, “Lord, here are my children and grands, You are the Lord of Hosts, and will protect and defend them. I place them on Your altar and release my hold and my “rights.” 1st chemo treatment starts 8/10/91. We can trust Him!

  3. Mitch Carroll says

    December 2, 2016 at 11:32 am

    Your posts always come at a time when I am doubting or under stress or worried or just wonder what it all is about. But then you bring me back to the center — the nest — of Our Lord. Beautiful…B E A U T I F U L! You are a gift to us. Keep writing.

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Sarah Christmyer writes and speaks about Scripture and the Catholic faith with the goal of helping people meet Jesus in his Word. “The Bible isn’t just a book about God or instructions for a good life; it’s a place to meet God and be changed by him,” she says. Her love of Scripture fuels her writing of Bible studies and related books; her teaching of Philadelphia seminarians; her speaking at conferences and retreats; and writing for blogs such as this one. “Come Into the Word” draws people into the Bible and encourages and equips them to explore it on their own.

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