September 29, Ordinary 26B (Psalm 124)
When the Spirit moved among us, we heard the tongues of angels.
Psalm 124 is one of a small collection of psalms identified as songs of ascent. Or, as commentator John H. Hayes calls them, “songs of pilgrimage.” These are liturgical pieces intended for public acts of worship, to be sung or recited while the congregation makes its way to its gathering place. They begin with a call from the worship leader, followed by the response of the congregation. In Psalm 124 we catch a glimpse of something ancient and profound: God’s people testifying.
I grew up in the Pentecostal tradition. My dad was a preacher in the Assemblies of God. Between my birth and my freshman year of high school I attended four congregations. In each of them, testimony time was a regular part of our worship. It usually happened at Sunday evening services and Wednesday prayer meetings. When the time felt right, my dad would invite people to stand and tell what God was up to in their lives.
Sometimes the testimony came in the form of a prayer request to the God who answered. Often it came in words of praise and thanksgiving. A deliverance. A healing. A miraculous recovery. A certain death avoided.
