Joyful Silence

Dear Sutton and Savannah, 

There is an old adage that goes, “Your actions are so loud that I can’t hear what you are saying.” It is one of my favorites.

-Dad

Inside Out Lectionary Letters

Year A Proper 6 - (Texts, Art, Hymns)

Readings for Sunday, June 14, 2026

Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) / Psalm 100 / Romans 5:1-8 / Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

Psalm 100: Scripture as a Mirror of the Soul

Psalm 100 is a brief psalm of thanksgiving and praise. We live a couple of blocks from Petco Park, where the Padres play baseball. From our living room we can see the Jumbotron scoreboard, which will often flash the words, "Make Some Noise!" The crowd responds with a roar that crescendos throughout the stadium.

I confess that I sometimes grow weary of all the noise—even joyful noise, which is exactly how this psalm begins. Yet in only five short verses, the psalmist gathers together a remarkable collection of qualities: joy, gladness, singing, belonging, thanksgiving, blessing, love, endurance, and faithfulness. How can a person not be drawn toward a way of living shaped by such things?

Perhaps the invitation of the psalm is deeper than simply making noise. Sometimes the world, and our own particular circumstances, become so loud that we lose sight of what matters most. The inner journey reminds us that joy, gratitude, belonging, and love are not things we must manufacture. Often they are already present, waiting to be noticed. And, ironically, sometimes it is through outward quiet and inward stillness that we finally hear the song the soul has been singing all along.