The Psalmathon was Awesome!

Reading the entire Psalter was even better than I remembered. At least part of my joy in the experience was the number of people I was able to share it with. There were nearly thirty people who came to it, five of whom were not people I see regularly. In fact, two I'd never seen at all before, and one of those told me she'd read about it in he Pacific Sun. It felt like our work of prayer had a broad reach.

As usual, I did have the feeling of Kairos, of being in God time. But this time I experienced something new. When you read the psalms aloud, you inevitably find yourself saying things that have nothing to do with how you're feeling at the time. You may be feeling terrific but the psalm you're reading is an extended expression of misery and visa versa. Part of the tradition of praying the psalms is that you are saying all of these psalms because someone, somewhere, is feeling exactly what is being expressed, even if you aren't. You are saying the words to God on their behalf.

As we made our way through the entire Psalter, I gradually got the palpable sense that we were praying for all of Marin. Here we were, the oldest Episcopal Church in Marin, in the oldest church building in Marin's largest town, praying for and behalf of everyone and everything in our county. It was a humbling and beautiful intuition. I also believe it was true.

It's a great honor to serve God by following Jesus in this way of prayer here at St. Paul's.