Psalm 133 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 133 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!
Verse 2It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.
Verse 3It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.
Devotion
In May, I spent a Sunday on my own in Jerusalem and joined in an Arabic-English bilingual worship service. As we said the Nicene Creed, I was overwhelmed. I had sat on the stone temple steps where Jesus walked, looked down from the Mount of Olives on the places where the prophets and apostles had preached and now I was worshipping with the descendants of that first community of Christians. As together we said, "For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven," I heard an additional "here." And then: "For our sake he was crucified ... here"; "suffered death and was buried ... here”; "On the third day he rose again ... here." I could barely get the words out. Pilgrims still come to the place where God acted in an awesome way for the sake of the whole world. "There the Lord ordained his blessing," indeed!
Prayer
Gracious God, we remember especially those Christians who still gather around the word and the table in the places where our Savior walked. Bless them and keep them, together with all your people. Amen.