Lenten Challenge #15

Today is Palm Sunday and so your Challenge for today is to meditate upon a Psalm of Ascent. The Psalms of Ascents are Psalms 120-134. These are the psalms pilgrims would sing as they went “up” to Jerusalem. No doubt, Jesus sang these as he traveled toward the city to celebrate the Passover Feast. As you read, imagine that you are a pilgrim walking toward Jerusalem accompanied by dozens of other pilgrims. How does this psalm prepare you for the upcoming holy day? You may read any or all of the Psalm of Ascent. I suggest Psalm 122.

Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.