My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise, and every living thing will bless God’s holy name forever and always. (Ps. 145:21)
Psalm 145 is an alphabetic acrostic poem, which means each verse is keyed to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This device is an aid for memorization.
After Christmas one year I drove five hours to visit my father, who had Alzheimer’s. He was then in a care home with twenty other people whose memories were also shot.
He was asleep when I arrived, which was not unusual. Previous experience had taught me it was better not to wake him, but to wait and let him wake of his own accord. So I sat and waited.
To pass the time I sang Christmas carols. I was also hoping the familiar words and tunes might summon him to consciousness. He slept on, peacefully so far as I could tell.
When I ran out of carols, I tried a few familiar verses from the Bible, like the 23rd and 121st Psalms. He did not stir. Since I seemed to be conducting a sort of worship service for the sleeping (not the first time), I moved to the Lord’s Prayer. My dad had taught me the Lord’s Prayer when I was a child. We said it together most nights before I went to sleep.
As I prayed, I noticed his hands at his sides had begun to float slowly upward like two giant fluttering moths. “Forgive us our debts … ” His hands came together — praying hands. “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.” As I said those last words, he opened his eyes and smiled. He said, “Oh, it’s you. What a nice surprise.”
We are to write the words of scripture upon our hearts, said the rabbi, so that when our hearts break, God’s word falls into them.
Beautiful. Thank you.