Who may dwell?
by Emma Strelan
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Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? (Psalm 15:1)
Read Psalm 15
During a recent youth camp that I helped organise, the theme was ‘The House of the Lord’. It was a great opportunity to spend time thinking about what it means to dwell with God and ask: Who is welcome in God’s house/our places of worship? The answer we wanted the youth to take home is that everyone is welcome!
However, today’s reading from Psalms asks us to consider: What are the requirements for being in the holy places of God? Or perhaps it could be reworded to: What makes someone a worthy or good worshipper?
To sum up the hefty list of attributes the psalmist details as requirements for someone who may dwell with God: honesty, integrity, right-doing, sacrifice and selflessness.
I think this provides a good challenge, but not to those who have never been to church and are questioning whether they would be allowed inside to sit with the ‘holy’ people. Instead, I think this psalm is addressed to those for whom worshipping in God’s house is a regular occurrence – to those of us who show up to church every Sunday because we believe we do have a place there (perhaps even a specific pew).
The psalmist challenges us to consider whether our actions outside of our place of regular worship reflect the God that we experience inside our times of worship. Are we truly honouring God with our minds and bodies and through our interactions with others during the week as well?
This psalm makes it clear that God’s holy presence demands a certain level of virtue, but we know we don’t fit the criteria of deserving to dwell with God. In the past, priests had to cleanse themselves with sacrifices to enter God’s presence. But since Jesus, we have a new way of meeting God, a new temple. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are holy and blameless in God’s sight.
As recipients of his cleansing sacrifice, Jesus invites us to walk in the way of one who dwells with God. Our challenge now is to be who we are.
I encourage you to read through Psalm 15 today (it’s only five verses!) and ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you have not been reflecting the goodness of your Lord and Saviour to others. Perhaps ask yourself: What can I do today to honour what (we’re reminded every Sunday) God does for us?
Gracious God, thank you that we don’t have to meet any criteria to be in your holy presence. Forgive us when we worship you on Sunday, but walk in a different direction on Monday. Show us how we can welcome more people into your house to experience the love you have shown us. Amen.
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