As Though We Were Dreaming: A Commentary on the Songs of Ascents for Lent

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The Eastern Christian liturgical tradition of Lent has long included the chanting of the Songs of Ascents (Pss 120-134) as entrance songs of not only the special penance service known as the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, but also of the season of repentance. Ruckhaus’ commentary in As Though We Were Dreaming provides theological insight and exegetical breadth to this group of Psalms. Even more so, Ruckhaus drives the reader to engage the Songs of Ascents and participate in the descent and ascent of meaningful and life-changing repentance. The commentary here does more than just compare the struggle of the ancient Jews reflected in the Songs of Ascents with that of the early Christian community and our own experience. Ruckhaus insists on a gutteral connection between the anxiety and hope of reconstituting the people of God after the disaster of the exile and that of the passion of Jesus. The gospel story is already genetically encoded in the story of Israel. The liturgical incorporation of the Songs of Ascents in the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts grounds the Church’s participation in the Great Story. We don’t borrow the ancient psalms of the Jews’ struggle to reconstitute a kingdom of God; we share in that struggle.