Psalm 78:1-7

1 Hear my teaching, O my people; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.
3 That which we have heard and known, and what our forefathers have told us, we will not hide from their children.
4 We will recount to generations to come the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the Lord, and the wonderful works he has done.
5 He gave his decrees to Jacob and established a law for Israel, which he commanded them to teach their children;
6 That the generations to come might know, and the children yet unborn; that they in their turn might tell it to their children;
7 So that they might put their trust in God, and not forget the deeds of God,
but keep his commandments;

This year, Monday Matters is focused on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen.

Pay attention

Apparently, when Latin was offered in high school, I forgot to sign up for the class. But on occasion, I’m able to make sense of the Latin titles given to our psalms. (You can find these titles as the psalms are printed in the Prayer Book.) My attention was drawn to the Latin title for a psalm which you may have heard in church yesterday, a psalm reprinted above. The Latin title for this psalm? Attendite, popule. I would translate: Pay attention, people.

Nicolas Malebranche, a 17^th century priest and philosopher, described attentiveness as the natural prayer of the soul. This insight caught the attention of Simone Weil, a most interesting writer and mystic of the early 20^th century. She said that "attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer.” She described it as a form of pure generosity. More recently, the virtues of attentiveness have been captured in the attention to mindfulness. All of which brings us to the psalm du jour.

The psalmist wrote a long message to the people of Israel, beginning with these few words: Hear, O Israel. In other words, pay attention, folks. And to what is the attention of the people of Israel drawn? Tracing the narrative of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness, the author of the psalm describes a pattern of human behavior that calls for particular attention.

Here’s the pattern: The children of Israel were miraculously delivered from the oppression of Egyptian slavery, for which they gave thanks. Pretty soon they forgot about that and started complaining. God provided for them water when they needed it. They appreciated that. Pretty soon they forgot about that and started complaining, in one of the most poignant questions in scripture: Can God set a table in the wilderness? God then provides the “bread of angels.” The people appreciated that. Pretty soon they forgot about that and started complaining, signing up with other gods. Do you see the pattern, a pattern to which the people’s attention is being drawn? Do you recognize that pattern? What does it mean to be attentive?

It has to do with being awake. It is easy to just chug along, going through the motions determined by routine, shaped by busy schedules, without being at all mindful. It’s why Jesus kept telling disciples to keep awake, something we’ll hear a lot about when Advent starts in a few weeks.

It has to do with awareness of the human tendency--the temptation--to complain, to ask of the Holy One: “What have you done for me lately?”

It has to do with the ways we respond to inevitable challenges that come our way. Do we panic or can we attend to the recollection of God’s presence with us in all of life’s moments, good times and bad.

It has to do with an attitude of gratitude, paying attention to those ways that God has provided in the past. As Abraham Heschel said, it’s about viewing the world with radical amazement. For those who can identify that kind of holy activity in their lives, it’s about remembering goodness and beauty that surround us. That’s partly why we come together for weekly worship, especially joining in the celebration of the eucharist. Because in that gathering as a community, we remember God’s goodness. As I’ve mentioned before, there’s a part of the eucharistic prayer which liturgists label as anamnesis. Not amnesia. Not forgetting.

And following Jesus’ lead, it has to do with attentiveness to those pushed to the margins, those who have been excluded. They are all around us.

Consider the ways you might be called to a greater attentiveness this Monday morning. See that attentiveness as the natural prayer of the soul. And with that prayer, notice that the psalmist begins by letting us know why this is important. It is not just for us.

It is for the children, for generations to come. That future oriented goal is worthy of our attention.

--Jay Sidebotham