Play to the Lord
Excerpt from Psalm 105
"Give thanks to Yahweh, call [God's] name aloud, proclaim [God's] deeds to the peoples! Sing to [God], play to [God}, tell over God's marvels!" (Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson
As it happens today is my birthday, so I figure that today's Scriptures might have a special word for me. I think I found it in today's psalm, second verse: "play to the Lord."
Imagine that: "play to God."
I confess, most of the time work comes easier to me than play. But if Jaco Hamman in his wonderful book, A Play-Full Life (new from The Pilgrim Press) is right, even that standard contrast of work and play is misleading.
Hamman says that play "helps us to manage our destructiveness and rejuvenates the mind, much like deep sleep does." But he also notes that in our culture play has been co-opted by other industries, such as the gambling industry, where one "plays the slots" and the sex industry, which offers "playmates." Moreover, increasingly play costs money, becoming another consumer good.
What does the psalmist mean by enjoining "play to God"?
"Play to the Lord" means not letting worry and fear consume us. It means living life to the full, even amid adversity. It could mean resisting the many ways the world has developed to render people anxious, fearful, hopeless and violent. It might mean letting go and letting God.
Play to the Lord. Try it today. I will.
Prayer
For bird-watching, listening to music, a bike ride on a country lane, a meal with friends, a walk with my wife, a hike with one of my sons, and standing in the river at dusk casting a fishing line, I thank you, good and play-full God. Amen.
Excerpt from Psalm 105
"Give thanks to Yahweh, call [God's] name aloud, proclaim [God's] deeds to the peoples! Sing to [God], play to [God}, tell over God's marvels!" (Jerusalem Bible)
Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson
As it happens today is my birthday, so I figure that today's Scriptures might have a special word for me. I think I found it in today's psalm, second verse: "play to the Lord."
Imagine that: "play to God."
I confess, most of the time work comes easier to me than play. But if Jaco Hamman in his wonderful book, A Play-Full Life (new from The Pilgrim Press) is right, even that standard contrast of work and play is misleading.
Hamman says that play "helps us to manage our destructiveness and rejuvenates the mind, much like deep sleep does." But he also notes that in our culture play has been co-opted by other industries, such as the gambling industry, where one "plays the slots" and the sex industry, which offers "playmates." Moreover, increasingly play costs money, becoming another consumer good.
What does the psalmist mean by enjoining "play to God"?
"Play to the Lord" means not letting worry and fear consume us. It means living life to the full, even amid adversity. It could mean resisting the many ways the world has developed to render people anxious, fearful, hopeless and violent. It might mean letting go and letting God.
Play to the Lord. Try it today. I will.
Prayer
For bird-watching, listening to music, a bike ride on a country lane, a meal with friends, a walk with my wife, a hike with one of my sons, and standing in the river at dusk casting a fishing line, I thank you, good and play-full God. Amen.
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