Lent and Easter 2023

Psalms, Poetry and Silent Prayer

Journey to Easter

For Sunday 26 th February 2023, First Sunday in Lent

If we pray the Psalms, sometimes the ‘I’ is ourselves speaking, sometimes we call to mind what God has said (where ‘I’ may be God speaking), sometimes we reflect on what matters. In the bits below from Psalm 32, set for today, we find all three: ‘I’ in the opening stanza is the psalmist talking to God and to himself (with a little bit of looking round to encourage others), ‘I’ in the second stanza is God speaking, and the third stanza has a verse of reflection followed by a final verse of encouragement.

Psalm 32, vv 3-8, 10-11

While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress,
the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Poem: Silence

‘While I kept silence, my body wasted away’ v.3

My gutted silence
groans to God,
for keeping quiet
is not a mark
of Jewish faith
or modern doubt.

The noise of silence
fills my head,
loud memories
keep battling trolls,
rattling facts
I can’t refute.

A wall of silence
breaks my heart;
things unsaid
are dissonant,
a cloud of sound
that shuts me out.

Locked in silence,
fearful, gagged
by those who keep
harsh tabs on you?
Let this psalm be
a parachute.

To break that silence,
choking speech
and life itself,
takes all of God
and all of us:
one saving shout.

From silence to shouting, from groaning to God – the progress of Lent, the current between the different poles of life. May you be able to pick up this week what matters to you, and what matters to others, as you take even a smidgin of time to reflect and pray.

These poems are taken from my book Temple and Tartan: Psalms, Poetry and Scotland. It so happens that Sanctuary First have asked me to lead Zoom on-line studies on the book on the five Thursdays in March at 7.30pm, for their ‘Book Club’, and if anyone would like to join in, the link is https://www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk/events/temple-and-tartan-book-club/temple-and-tartan-week1 (or Google Sanctuary First Book Club).

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St Columba’s is located on Pont Street in Knightsbridge in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The Church is within easy reach of three London Underground stations – Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line), South Kensington (Piccadilly, Circle and District Lines) and Sloane Square (Circle and District Lines).

	St. Columba's Pont Street London SW1X 0BD
	+44 (0)20-7584-2321
	office@stcolumbas.org.uk

Getting here by tube

Knightsbridge Station

Take the Harrods exit if open (front car if coming from the East, rear car if coming from the West). Come up the stairs to street level, carry on keeping Harrods on your right. Turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on into Walton Place with St Saviour’s Church on your left. At the traffic lights, St Columba’s is to your left across the street. If the Harrods exit is closed, take the Sloane Street exit, turn right into Basil Street. Carry straight on past Harrods with the shop on your right, into Walton Place as before.

South Kensington Station

Come up the stairs out of the station and turn left into the shopping arcade. Turn left again into Pelham Street. At the traffic lights at the end of Pelham Street cross Brompton Road, turn left then immediately right into the narrow street of Draycott Avenue. After just a few yards turn left into Walton Street. Carry on walking up Walton Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn right and after a few steps you will be at St Columba’s!

Sloane Square Station

Cross over the square into Sloane Street. Walk along Sloane Street until the traffic lights at the corner of Pont Street. Turn left into Pont Street. St Columba’s will then be in sight.