Excerpt from Psalm 127

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain...It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; For he provides for his Beloved during sleep."

Reflection by Christina G. Kukuk

With a wink and the wag of a head, the singer asks an annoying question of the workaholic: What do you really gain running yourself ragged, rising before dawn and pushing past midnight? Why settle for "the bread of anxious toil," always coming home long after the plates on the table have turned cold?

The one who sings knows what it means to be truly human: Working and eating, and… well, one more thing. You could call this "The Psalm for Gettin' it On."

Is this a poem about prayer or procreation?  Spirituality or sex? Like all good religion, it's ambiguous. The translation for polite company slumbers with innocence, "for he gives sleep to his beloved." But the next paragraph suggests zzzzzzs aren't the only provision.

"Sons are a heritage… the fruit of the womb a reward…"

Someone is getting fruitful, in the Biblical sense. And a quiver-full of ankle biters in those days was a picture of God's blessing. Babies weren't a metaphor for life. They were your life. A passel of them was insurance against starvation in a subsistence agricultural economy. In the so-called developed world today, that's no longer true. We couple up and procreate for other reasons and sometimes none at all.

But like a good song, the truth in these notes can still be heard: You are a being—not a machine. The dance of your working, eating, and love-making creates a spiritual economy not only in your own household, but also in the world. Your ability to stop working early enough to make love with your partner, and your ability to stop toiling once in a while and trust enough to pray are related. The Creator Chef spreads a feast.

So stop early once in a while.

And get it on.
   
Prayer

Master Chef, we confess: If we're trying by sheer force of will and power, by long days and short nights, to build our castle, career, portfolio, or program - we'll spend ourselves in vain. Help us to stop early once in awhile, and trust you enough to get it on. Amen.

About the Author Christina G. Kukuk is the Senior Pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ, Elyria, Ohio.