Advent with the psalms
One of my most cherished belongings is a binder of handwritten recipes collected from my Nana after her death. These are the recipes she cooked most often, the ones that, over time, had become worn with their frequent use. Dog-eared, they offer a faint scent of her warm kitchen that always welcomed me with anise cookies and Bolognese sauce; while her food was always a treat, the provision of her heart was the gift. As a master caretaker, she made me feel well-loved, worthy, and whole. Her love for me and her servant's heart showed me the dignity of home and family life.
It is an absolute delight to pull each recipe out on a quiet day and spend time with her in the kitchen as I prepare a sweet treat for my children, some of whom she has never met but loves dearly from her eternal rest. As I read her careful script and laugh at her little notes, "I added another handful of raisins,"… I sense her presence. Somehow my heart can feel the care and
peace of her home, the song of the clock chimes every quarter hour, well-worn rosary beads at her bedside, and a table set for evening dinner by noon.
I shared my Nana and her recipes with you today as we begin Advent to offer context by which we will embrace the book of Psalms over the next four weeks in this Advent Devotional.
The book of Psalms recounts our story of salvation. From the moment Adam and Eve severed humanity's relationship with God in choosing evil over His goodness, our heavenly Father revealed a path for the human person to restore communion between our hearts and His; we call this salvation history. God chose the people of Israel to lead the way in traversing this path. The prayerful songs of the Psalter are the inspired Word of God that share a living memory of His promise and providence over Israel as the path to salvation was paved. Reminiscent and prophetic, the psalms sing the story of a people who were broken but chosen, suffered and rejoiced, and who, by God's merciful, unyielding grace, looked forward to the Incarnation, allowing His promise to change everything.
Similar to my Nana's book of recipes, the psalms emanate a gentle scent of home and a holy nostalgia for the intimate moments of family life. When I curl up with these prayers and a hot cup of coffee, I am overwhelmed by the reality that these verses are the same that filled the air within the Holy Family's home. As I settle into each prayer, I close my eyes and see our Blessed Mother in the quiet, solitary moments of the morning preparing bread for the day ahead and hear her softly sing these psalms of David to Yahweh. Eyes still closed, I encounter Jesus and Joseph; after a long day of working with wood and stone, I watch them resting in the last hours of sunlight as Jesus listens to Joseph sing the promises made to Israel. We pray together with this Divinely inspired book that connects a family between yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
We pray Psalm 80, written by Asaph on this first Sunday of Advent, a curious but appropriate beginning to the Advent season. Asaph fashions this lament together with a grief filled heart, praying, Lord, let us turn to You; let us see your face, and we shall be saved. In this Psalm, Asaph recounts a time of great uncertainty for Israel—the Davidic Kingdom had been divided and the Israelites dispersed. His words recall the promise of God to Israel, the vine pulled from the slavery of Egypt and rooted in promised soil. Asaph laments over the Godly provisions that once nourished and strengthened his people but seem to have burned and withered away through the onslaught of their enemies. With the words, Lord, let us turn to You; let us see your face, and we shall be saved he cries out in the darkness seeking Light. Without yet knowing Christ, Asaph sings with anticipation the joy of the Incarnation.
Imagine? The humility of God—to not only lend His ear to every prayer but to answer. I think of Mary with the words of Asaph on her lips, Lord, let us turn to You; let us see your face, and we shall be saved, her hands over her swollen belly. This Advent, we prepare for God, who loves us so deeply that when we ask to see His face —he shows us! Imagine? The humility of God. This Advent, we prepare for the prayer of Asaph to be answered through the communion of family life, through the womb of a woman, into the arms of a foster father. It is the domestic church that first receives Christ; it is the Incarnation who is the fulfillment of a covenantal promise, and it is the Word made Flesh who unites us into the story of salvation. We, too, are called, chosen, and given the gift of salvation.
Crystal and my prayer this Advent is for your heart to be restored within your domestic church—the space where our perfect and loving God chose to first show us His face. Like Israel, we are chosen but broken, we suffer and rejoice, and by God's merciful, unyielding grace, this December, we will prepare for the Incarnation and allow Him to change everything.
Restore us, O Lord!
