Psalm 114: "Lord Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary..."

When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 
Judah became God’s sanctuary,   
Israel his dominion.  
-Psalm 114:1

Observation: Psalms are worship songs, written to be sung in the Jerusalem temple. Yet this song remembers a time before there ever was a temple. It would have been interesting to be there, amid the huge stone pillars and high walls of this grandiose temple, and hear echoing off those very walls a memory of a time when God's only "sanctuary" was an extended family of slaves, far from home, with no possessions, much less a house of worship, crying out to a God they barely knew for release.

Application: Some of the most powerful worship experiences I've ever had have been outdoors, with no buildings in sight. My time as a counselor at Michi-Lu-Ca, a Lutheran camp in Michigan, was formative for my faith. And on countless evenings, as the campfire time was drawing to a close, we'd sing together,

Lord, prepare me

to be a sanctuary

pure and holy

tried and true

With thanksgiving

I'll be a living

Sanctuary

for you. 

Even though the words are individualistic--"Lord prepare me"--Psalm 114 and countless other Biblical texts show that God's sanctuary is not so much within the heart of any one individual, but among a community of believers. Jesus said, "wherever two are more are gathered, I am there among them." It's not in a building where God's presence resides. The other six days a week when your church's sanctuary sits empty, it may as well be an auditorium or a classroom (as, indeed, Living Grace's worship spaces are!) But when God's people gather for worship, it is a holy place. It is a sanctuary. 

God, thank you for dwelling among your people. Help us to continue on as your dwelling place through the week, doing your will, loving whom you love, listening for the cries for freedom that touch your heart. God, prepare us to be your sanctuary. Amen.