PSALM 122:1

SCRIPTURE

ናብ ቤት እግዚአብሔር ንኺድ፣ ምስ በሉኒ ተሓጐስኩ።
“I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”

REFLECTION

This verse does not begin with personal feeling, but with being called. David does not say that he chose on his own to go to the house of God. He rejoices because others said to him, “Let us go.” Movement toward God begins in obedience, not in self-direction.

The joy spoken of here is quiet and rooted. It is not excitement or emotion, but alignment. The house of the Lord is not an addition to life, but the center around which life is ordered. To be called there is to be drawn back into the proper rhythm of prayer, worship, and repentance.

In every generation, the house of God is treated as optional or unnecessary. This Psalm speaks against that spirit. It reminds us that returning to the house of the Lord is not wasted time, but redeemed time. Life is restored when it is ordered around worship.

To go to the house of God is not only to enter a building, but to accept a way of life shaped by discipline, humility, and communal faithfulness. David’s joy comes from knowing that his life is being gathered again toward its true center.

THEOLOGICAL FOCUS

Ecclesiology. Obedience before enthusiasm. Communal orientation toward God.

LITURGICAL MEANING

This Psalm belongs to ordinary time. It establishes where life is centered. Christian life begins with being called into worship, not personal impulse. The house of God becomes the axis around which the week turns.

PRACTICE

Regular attendance. Stability in prayer. Faithfulness without emotional dependence.
Ordinary weeks form endurance. Joy here is steady and disciplined.