Psalm 95 and The Mission

Psalms for Praying

Nan C. Merrill  

  

O that today we would harken 

to the Beloved's voice!

Harden not your hearts, 

as in days of old,

that you would not be separated from Love.

Be not like those who hear the Word

and heed it not,

thinking to be above the Most High.

For life is but a breath in the

Eternal Dance,

a gift to be reverenced with trust,

an opportunity to grow

in spirit and truth,

That in passing into new Life,

you enter into the Heavenly City.    

 

 

It was close to 100 degrees when we pulled up to Mission San Miguel last week.  We were driving south on 101 on our way to Pismo Beach when I saw the sign for the mission. The California missions had once again surfaced in my consciousness so I decided to stop.  For several days I had been mulling over a statement made by one of the protesters speaking out against the canonization of Father Serra. She said she had to protest because she and all Indians carried the voices of their ancestors within them, and for them they must speak. I knew enough of the impact of the missions on the life and culture of the Indians that I had no doubt that she was speaking a deep truth.   

 

Although Mission San Miguel is very close to the highway, the area's remoteness also speaks.  The cactus and the heat speak.  The quiet speaks.   As I looked at the adobe and stone work and even the lovely stenciling on the sanctuary walls, I began to get a sense of just how arduous the work of building these missions must have been. I also thought how even more difficult it would have been had you not been particularly willing to take part in the building up of something that was tearing down the lives and culture of those around you.  Mission San Miguel is hardscrabble enough to let these voices be known, and I dedicate this morning's psalm to them.     

 

May the world know peace.