A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene H. Peterson
Week 4: Chapter 3 — Joy (Psalm 122)
Read Chapter 3 of A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Primary text: Psalm 122.
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The pilgrim arrives at Jerusalem and breaks into joy — not because everything is perfect, but because worship has a way of reorienting the whole of life.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1."I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" Peterson observes that the psalmist's joy is triggered not by arriving at the temple but by the invitation to go. Has an invitation to worship — being asked to come along by someone else — ever unexpectedly moved you? What happened?
2.Peterson argues that joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances ("happenings"); joy is something that can coexist with difficulty. How have you experienced joy and suffering at the same time in your own life?
3.Peterson emphasizes that the joy in Psalm 122 is communal joy — joy in the house of the Lord, among the tribes, together. He pushes back against what he calls "the tourist mentality" in worship — watching from a distance, uncommitted, critical. Do you recognize that tourist posture in yourself or in the church culture around you?
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