The Starting Place

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, November 12th, 2023:
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 63​

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I have always been intrigued by the idea that everyone recognizes God, regardless of their belief or lack thereof. God is love, forgiveness, goodness, grace, mercy. I propose that we all know what love feels like, what being forgiven feels like, and what conviction feels like. We all recognize good when we see it, and we love it. Given that we as human beings exist in His image, we recognize in ourselves our desire, our thirst, for love. 

I’ll concede that this ventures into the dangerous realm of sweeping generalization, but I believe it to be true with all my heart. All our souls thirst for God to some degree or another, because we need love in order to thrive; indeed, we need love in order to survive. This is how we are built. So, I believe that we can all say, regardless of all other factors, “My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.”

The acknowledgement of this universal desire for love and goodness is the starting place. It’s the common ground, the pre-race warm-up area, the backstage of life, the game-day locker room. The place from which to begin everything else.

We can so easily get caught up in the challenges that come up during the race. We forget about the pep talk and the pregame cheers in the face of the hurdles of our emotions and desires, which often exist or are twisted because someone else forgot about the pep talk too. I’ve been discouraged, gotten lost, tripped on so many hurdles and fallen down hard, and I’m endlessly thankful for all those who have found me and helped me back up. They’ve brought me back to the locker room, brushed me off, dried my tears, dressed my wounds. and encouraged me to get back out there. 

Through them, I’ve come to remember the starting place, which is that we all thirst for love. And as we run the race, may we all come to the realization that it is a big loop…

The starting place is also the finish line.




Lindsay Elford

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