“How lovely your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! 

My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. 

My heart and flesh cry out for the living God.

As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young,

My home is by your altars,

Lord of hosts, my king and my God!

Happy are those who dwell in your house!

They never cease to praise you.” 

                                                            -Psalm 84:1-5

 

Biblical experts tell us that this Psalm was written from the perspective of the people of Israel making their way to Jerusalem on a religious pilgrimage.  For the people of Israel, the Temple in Jerusalem was the holiest place on earth.  It was, literally, the dwelling place of the Lord.   Pilgrims were often at risk from robbers, were at the mercy of the weather and climate, and had to make considerable sacrifices in order to go to worship God and make an offering to Him.   

For the people of Israel, the Temple was the one place where they could directly offer sacrifice to God.  It was the place where the Ark of the Covenant was housed – the symbolic, tangible presence of God’s promise and covenant with the people of Israel.  For a Jew living during the time of Christ, going to the Temple and praying there was also a way to experience the hope and strength that God gave to His people during the harsh occupation imposed by the Roman Empire.  In the midst of that oppression, the Temple stood as a reminder that God’s promise to make of the people of Israel a great nation was not lost.  All of that, and so much more, were wrapped up in this pilgrimage – a place to experience transcendence, holiness, and to given the dignity that comes from faith and hope.

Frequently in the gospels, Jesus is described as entering a synagogue.  While the temple was the one place that Jews could sacrifice and was considered the dwelling place of the Lord, synagogues were smaller “chapels” of sorts, where Jews gathered locally to hear God’s word and worship together.

Our Christian community is ever challenged to pay greater attention to prayer, communal and individual.  We are to seek “the dwelling places” of God in the midst of our own life experiences.  Where do you find God’s “dwelling places”?  In what place(s), relationships, and at what times are you aware of being in the “dwelling place” of God?