Outside Reading, Blog #3

Communicating with the Soul

1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
    as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
    under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
    among the festive throng.

5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

6 My soul is downcast within me;
    therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
    the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.

8 By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock,
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
    oppressed by the enemy?”
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
    as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”

11 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,

    my Savior and my God.

  

       There has been a point in every person's life, Christian or not, where that person has felt alone, helpless, hopeless. When reading Psalm 42, this is all I see. A man who is in complete misery, and who's soul is unwilling to be joyous, going against all of this psalmist's head knowledge. His head and his heart know that he wants to be and should be worship praising God, yet his soul is "downcast" (v. 6). 

       This psalm is composed in very lyrical and poetic fashion. This psalm helps communicate the mercies of God to those who are unable to feel it in their current state. When reading a psalm, a person must be reading it with emotion; he or she must be reading it in a poetic style. There is much human emotion in the psalms, and especially Psalm 42. The psalmist also uses imagery to capture his emotions: "my tears have been my food day and night," and "deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls." He understands that the Lord is his rock, the immovable God, yet his soul is not cooperating; at one point, he is literally yelling at his soul: "Why are you downcast, O my soul?... Put your hope in God." There is a form of communication going on in the psalmist's being that cannot be experienced the exact same way by anyone else. He is unable to have someone who has known exactly what is going on, but through this psalm he attempts to secure empathy from people through emotions and lyricism.

        In order to feel God's sovereign love for him, the psalmist is preaching to his own soul, his inner most being, that it is this way. He won't simply accept misery, but will require his soul to persevere through it and praise God all along. 

        It's funny how, during the time of when this psalm was written (many scholars believe it to be David, written during Absalom's rebellion, explained in 2 Samuel, David is not in sorrow because of the situation that is happening around him, but at the fact that his soul is not cooperating and praising God. He's upset that while his head and his heart are captivated by God and his love, he is struggling to communicate this to his own soul. The times of today are not important to David, but honoring his God is, and he wants all who read this psalm to know that praising God is the most important thing we can do, despite what our soul may be in the mood for. 

Courtney Botkin: Image and Pilgrimage, Blog #3 Changing Pilgrimage

Blog #3

The Changing Face of Pilgrimage

Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture

In this blog, I will be talking about how the meaning of pilgrimage changed throughout history by adapting to its culture. As the society is changing, pilgrimage gets combined with both traditional values as well as changing elements. It is evident that pilgrimage has a strong historical background throughout the years though, because it is sometimes required in some religions and encouraged in some. Some factors that have notoriously affected pilgrimages and people’s ability to take part are social, economic, political, and religious components. Ross indicates that a change within religions has occurred from “a culture of obligation or duty” to “culture of consumption.” This has made it so less and less people go on pilgrimages for they believe it is not their duty but they have the choice whether they want to or not. Ross also notes that across the nations patterns for religious practice are rapidly changing since even the first publishing of this book. Another aspect of the changing term of pilgrimage is the difference between a pilgrim and a tourist. The Turners note, “A tourist is half a pilgrim, if a pilgrim is half a tourist.” The definitions have shaped to be more of a gray area instead of the used to be black and white distinction between the two.

            I believe that pilgrims are or once could have been tourists, who were inspired to rediscover or connect to what to something. This is going to be different for different people, but could be narrowed down to a religion or an idea for most. Tourists do not necessarily have to be pilgrims, because they may just travel somewhere to see family and happen to go sight-seeing for the day hoping to encounter some beautiful scenery. They could never think twice about it, because they were not there to encompass the monument, but simply to enjoy it. In a pilgrimage, I believe that there would be more internal forces or motives for wanted to visit this the sight and capture the emotional relationship encountered through the trip and existence of the monument.

Courtney Botkin: Landscapes of the Sacred, Axis Mundi

Sacred Blog #2

Landscapes of the Sacred

In this blog, I will be discussing the idea of axis mundi, which was mentioned in Landscapes of the Sacred in Part 1: Place in American Religious Life. The term axis mundi is a spiritual symbol used to describe the center of the earth where the earth and sky connect. In some cultures, the axis mundi symbol is pictured as a natural object such as a tree, mountain, or vine. Mircea Eliade described the axis of the world or the “navel of the earth” to be the center of our personal world. This means that she believed through sacred pilgrimages one could communicate entirely with the one they solely worship better than they normally can. This idea of improved communication while on a pilgrimage is a widely shared belief or concept. When most people go on pilgrimages, they comment on how in tune they are with their feelings. Many people also notice that when traveling to a high place, like climbing a mountain, it could ultimately make one think they are closer to heaven or their religious leader. This symbolizes the interconnection between heaven and earth and vice versa. Although you wish that it will remain the same when you return home to your busy lifestyle, it is harder to continue this so deep, intimate relationship or connection with the one you worship. The ideal situation is to continue this intense focusing and centering on your faith and religion while juggling your everyday life. Therefore, the axis mundi or this centering of the mind on one’s spiritual leader, is to be strived and desired for in hopes of accomplishing the next level in a spiritual relationship.