Psalm 42, begins morning prayer this Monday of Holy Week, a prayer of longing for the presence of the Lord in his temple.

Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is longing
for you my God.

My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life,
when can I enter and see
the face of God?

Jesus surely said this psalm approaching the temple of Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. He came to be in the presence of his Father. not to argue or dispute with those who rejected him in that holy place. Yet. he was rejected.

My tears have become my bread
by night and by day
as I hear it said all the day long
“Where is your God!”

Psalms like this allow us to know his thoughts these days, when Jesus stayed in Bethany before his crucifixion. Today, we recall a banquet when Mary, the sister of Lazarus, poured a precious oil on him. She did it “for the day of my burial”, Jesus says.

Why are you cast down my soul,
why groan within me?
hope in God, I will praise him still,
my Savior and my God.

Today we remember Mary, sister of Lazarus, for her gracious kindness.