Today, our scripture calls the worshiping community to celebration and then offers a pause as a reminder from God (a voice not expected and in other Biblical translations, not known) pulls the community to remember the mighty acts of God’s salvation: answering their cries, rescuing them from bondage, and leading them safely through the wilderness. Listening to this voice redirects their worship from a regular liturgical celebration to a response to God’s gracious acts toward

I’ve grown to see Lent as an awakening. Not the gentle stirring kind, but the kind that calls you out of sleep. It is a season when we allow God to shake us out of numbness. It’s an invitation to be honest about injustice, suffering, and the places where fear and control shape us more than love does. Lent is an invitation to listen again to God’s beckoning voice. Psalm 81 is an invitation to awakening. It begins in joyful song, but then the tone shifts.