Found

How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord of heavenly forces!

My very being longs, even yearns,

for the Lord’s courtyards.

My heart and my body

will rejoice out loud to the living God!

Yes, the sparrow too has found a home there;

the swallow has found herself a nest

where she can lay her young beside your altars,

Lord of heavenly forces, my king, my God!

Those who live in your house are truly happy;

they praise you constantly. Psalm 84:1-4

I share these verses, particularly verse 3. The key word is ‘found’. The Hebrew word for ‘found’ is “matza.”  It could be like the word for the unleavened bread called matza, but literally it means ‘found.’

I share this because of a memory that recently came to my mind about pets that my family had when I was growing up. We had two kittens that were given to us by some very dear friends who were Jewish. The two kittens were a totally grey kitten with white paws whom we called, “Mitzy” and a calico kitten named “Matza.”  The name for Matza was not given for Hebrew meaning, but just a neat mix with sister kitten, Mitzy and brother kitten Matza. 

Over time we sadly lost Mitzy due to some health issues, but Matza was our cat for years. That relationship was threatened when Matza was missing and we did not see him for a couple of days. We presumed the cat was killed by a wild animal since we lived in a housing area near some canyons where such animals could be found like foxes or birds of prey. 

Then, a wonderful discovery! My sister was riding her bicycle and rode past a water drain near an intersection a few blocks from home. She heard a very loud, mournful, “MEOW.”  It was Matza! He somehow fell into the water drain and was desperate to get out! My sister immediately stopped her bicycle and had to bend and stretch to reach down and get Matza. She came back home with our missing cat crying with great relief and Matza was purring excessively!   

That would be the end of the story for most folks. But it came back to me when I was taking Hebrew at Seminary for an intensive session. Within 4 weeks, we were translating Old Testament passages after memorizing vocabulary and learning Hebrew grammar. One trick in learning vocabulary was to think of a picture to associate a word. One word was ‘Matza’ meaning found. My picture was our cat being found, whose namesake in Hebrew means to be found. I shared that experience with our Jewish friends who gave us the cat and they were totally amused. 

Now what is being found mean for you and me? I like Psalm 84 for that very meaning. Verse 3 speaks of how the sparrows find their home in God’s house. We have been away from the church because of COVID 19, but  are gradually working back in a safe manner. We have had communion together and parking lot services together, but it is another opportunity for us to be “found” in a home church with our family of faith. 

Another very intimate picture of being found would be like the Good Shepherd whose flock is safe, but one lamb goes missing. He searches for the lamb and finds it. There is joy in heaven over the one lost sheep being found. 

Ok, it is not a sheep that was missing, but a cat our family deeply loved that was found, a cat named Matza. As Psalm 84:1-4 shares, so may we be found by our Good Shepherd and claim our home in God’s church where all creation is welcomed. 

Prayer:  Eternal and ever searching God, open our hearts to what has been missing that You may find.  Always may we find our home with You in Your family in the name of our Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Dr. John J. Duling, Parish Associate