Your Vigil Should Not be in Vain

Ps. 127:1

“To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.”  

Pema Chodron 

Chodron’s wise words meet the 127th psalm today, as it both speaks to the experience of exile and impermanence of its historical authors, as well as to us, today, reading these words on the cusp of a new Jewish year. What does it mean to be thrown out of the nest, shake up the security blanket of the senses, in order to be fully human, fully alive? 

Perhaps what she means and what our psalm today is getting at is that living life on autopilot is a recipe for a small life. At times in our life, sometimes a crisis, sometimes a birthday, sometimes a new year -- we are invited to shake the familiar and in some ways, to wake up. Our world is experiencing this level of aggressive wake up call, a violent shake up leaving so many with no nest, and with no known next. Whether we chose our rude awakening or stumbled onto it -- how do we utilize the shaking up of our lives to try and be more fully alive, conscious and alert -- beyond the turbulence? 

Psalm 127, on the path of the Psalms of Ascent, is dedicated to Solomon, the second king of Jerusalem, who is famous for building the temple and enlarging the empire’s power, wealth and strength. It is possible that his name appears in the opening words not as a sing of honor but as subtle condemnation by the authors, writing this long after the temple is no more, and the empire is long gone:

שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לִשְׁלֹ֫מֹ֥ה אִם־יְהֹוָ֤ה ׀ לֹא־יִבְנֶ֬ה בַ֗יִת שָׁ֤וְא עָמְל֣וּ בוֹנָ֣יו בּ֑וֹ אִם־יְהֹוָ֥ה לֹא־יִשְׁמׇר־עִ֝֗יר שָׁ֤וְא  שָׁקַ֬ד שׁוֹמֵֽר׃

^{A song of ascents. Of Solomon.}

^{Unless GOD builds the house,}

^{its builders labor in vain on it;}

^{unless GOD watches over the city,}

^{the guard keeps vigil in vain.}

^{Ps. 127:1}

^{The psalm seems to suggest that what matters is living life with humility and faith, knowing that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves and it’s not all about our  strength and knowledge. For those of us living with faith and the presence of God these words may seem soothing and familiar. For so many struggling with the divine voice in the world -- how are we to interpret these words?} 

^{Perhaps it is about the will to live with full intention, not to build temples, homes or big ideas without integrity, in solidarity with the needs of others, in accordance with the highest and deepest values that will celebrate the best in life?} 

^{The warning of the psalm is not just about hubris and a life of lies but about living life without attention to each little detail and to the big picture which is the greater good.} 

^{What’s the point of an empire if it’s not rooted in justice? Who needs those empty gestures? What’s the worth of a home and all its armed guards if it’s a home to dishonesty, abuse, or worse?} 

^{The warning to Solomon is the one we’ll turn into a wish on the threshold of this new year.} 

^{Let there be love in everything we labor towards, and full integrity in every deed we build. Let’s not stay sleeping at the wheel but wake up, all together, to take charge of our destinies and future, co-creating as best we can, a world where everybody gets to get a warm, safe nest for as long as we all need it. And when the nest is not there for some reason -- let’s be there for each other and hold each other up, full alive, fully human, fully present to each shift and new turn.} 

^{Shana Tova. A better, safer, new year for all.}

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