This, Our Valley: What do the stars tell us?

 

"The heavens declare [God’s] righteousness,* and all the peoples see his glory.” Psalm 97

As an alert reader, you no doubt noticed right off the bat the presence of an asterisk in the middle of verse 6 of Psalm 97 (quoted above). The asterisk (or “star”) is a mark that indicates a pause. The star is often found in music and poetry and indicates a pause belongs there. When one is reading the psalms silently or aloud, they are expected to pause for a beat before continuing with their recitation. Why?

We live in a world where reading tends to be done alone, in private. I sit in my recliner every day and spend my time reading novels, text books, devotional literature, and the like, and I do it silently. I sit before the computer monitor and likewise read and write quietly. The only time I read outloud is when I am going over my sermon notes to establish the pace and rhythm of what I will be “delivering unto the people gathered” (for worship). 

In the olden days, however, printing was very expensive. A congregation might have one Bible, and the psalms were often chanted. The people simply memorized most of the psalms used in their regular church services, and the star marked places where the cantor could pause to take a breath. After that “beat,” the congregation would finish the verse. 

If you look at the psalm above, you’ll note the verse makes a statement (The heavens declare God’s righteousness), to which the people respond (... and all the peoples see his glory). That pause places a dramatic emphasis onto the response (when done publicly). 

You get a sense of that dramatic reading when you watch the old television show Superman. There is that dramatic pause between each phrase shouted from the crowd: Look * Up in the sky * it’s a bird * it’s a plane * No * It’s Superman!

The point is, the star speaks to us. It reminds us to slow down. Take a breath. Pause. Get off that treadmill for just a moment. Look. Listen. I mean, really look; really listen.

I stopped writing a moment ago and watched two squirrels across the street run up and down the power pole – up one side, down the other, tails flickering, with such fluid grace I can barely understand how they do it. 

I pause for just a moment and compare the grace of those cute gray critters with my own clumsy efforts at perambulation and cannot help but see the heavens declaring the glory of God in creation. How wonderful, magical, beautiful! I’m nearly at a loss for words (which is becoming easier as my vocabulary seems to shrink day-by-day).

One does not have to believe in God to behold the wonders of the universe. One doesn’t have to believe in God to sing songs of appreciation that spring from the heart. One simply needs to take a moment to be still and bask in the glory of sunshine or rain; take in lakes, valleys, mountains, rivers, deserts, bogs, grasslands, scrub brush, and everything else that surrounds us.

Be still. That is becoming a lost art. I may be still in body, but too much time is spent on my rump and on my phone. Not enough time is devoted to being still and allowing my heart to actually slow down.

I am a hypocrite, of course. I urge folks to slow down, breathe, look, and listen – all the while I’m busy tapping the keyboard frantically because I’ve got to pack up and drive across the state for a family friend’s funeral. As the apostle Paul says, “I know what I should do, but I don’t do it. I know what I shouldn’t do, but I do that anyway. Woe is me!”

Well, perfection belongs to God. My place is to recognize when I’ve gotten out of balance like a load of laundry in a cranky old washing machine; I’ve got to stop the washer, open the lid when the agitator has ceased its agitation, and rearrange the load until it is back in balance.

Summer is my asterisk. It is the star of my show. It’s a reminder to stop, look, listen. It is a call to shift from talking the talk and move along to walking the walk. I hope you’ll join me for the walk under the stars here in this, our valley.

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)