Reflections
"You who seek God, may your hearts revive!"
Like Jeremiah, our psalmist
cries out to the Lord and seeks
relief from suffering. The psalmist
bears insult for the sake of God
as a consequence of his zeal
for the Lord.
Yet the verses are a plea to God
and a remedy for the distress
into which the psalmist has sunk.
Crying out to God with trust
in God’s great love is the only
answer for those lowly ones who
are cast down and persecuted.
Seek the Lord and your hearts
will revive! The Lord hears the cry
of the poor.
The Gospel echoes the confidence
of the psalm's verses. Jesus affirms
that we are to proclaim the Gospel
from the housetops and fear not our
enemies who are powerless to kill the soul.
(Matthew 10:27-28)
As the psalm says, even if we are in bonds
the Lord will not spurn us. For the Lord in his great
love will answer us. The psalmist stands on firm
ground though he was cast out by family and friends.
In the Gospel Jesus confirms that He is on the side
of those who acknowledge Him as Lord.
Are we bearing insult for our God; do our brothers
cast us out because of our faith; have we become
a stranger to our children because zeal for the Lord
consumes us? If so, we are in good company because
Jesus suffered the insults of those who denied him.
What is our remedy? There is only one way to turn,
as our psalmist says. Pray to the Lord, that in His
great love He will answer us, that He will favor us,
and that He will help us. No one else is merciful like
the Lord; no one else has unlimited amounts of
kindness; no one else has the power to revive us
from the inside out. We are His own and His
own who are in bonds He spurns not.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Have you been spurned by family or friends because
of your faith? How do you respond?
2. Have you born insult for the sake of the Lord?
How did you handle it?
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