Psalm 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9The Psalm is a prayer for forgiveness and guidance,
a good way to begin the season of Lent.
The same covenant the Lord made with Noah (1st reading) gives comfort to David, who calls out, “Remember your compassion and love, O Lord, for they are ages old ...
Good and upright is the Lord, who shows sinners the way.”
Later in the psalm David begs the Lord, “Have pity on me …
put an end to my affliction and suffering, take away all my sins.”
Who else could take away our sins but God’s son,
the righteous one who suffered for us, the unrighteous ones,
as Peter reminds us in the 2nd reading.
Peter says Baptism doesn’t remove the dirt from our bodies;
it doesn’t remove our sinful nature.
But it does allow us to receive the holy Spirit within us,
because without the Spirit,
we are powerless against the Devil.
We are blessed to have a God
who does not disregard us.
On the contrary, he is a caring, compassionate God,
willing to humble himself to share in our humanity,
so that we might come to share in his divinity.
Who else would have such regard for sinners,
for believers who disobey him?
It is He who encourages us when our tongues confess –
“The Lord guides the humble rightly,
and teaches the humble the way.”
Our Lord Jesus tells us what we are to do
as we prepare for the most important season of the year:
“Repent and believe in the Gospel.”
Our response is – David said it years before --
“You are God my Savior.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our Psalm speaks of being taught by the Lord
("teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me;
he teaches the humble his way.") Are you a good student of the Lord?
Tell about what you have learned or are learning from the Lord.
2. According to our psalmist, the Lord "shows sinners the way."
As we enter the season of Lent, we could all use some guidance
and help as we strive for repentance and to be bolder in our faith.
Explain what you will do during Lent to become a more obedient
Christian and a better witness for your faith.
Lent is the road for forgiveness for all. God sent Jesus to do this for us. It was a very important thing that happened.
ReplyDeleteLent is the season to reflect, and we all have much to reflect on and be thankful for. None of us are perfect, and our nature is sinful. And, sin is attractive! But basically, I think we are all good students of the Lord, or we would not be making the time to read this blog.
ReplyDeleteBUT, we all could be better, and we know that. I am a firm believer in that "to those who much has been given, much is expected." And I'm sure
that "He" expects more of and from each of us. During Lent let us resolve to pray more for his guidance. We are all unique and special......let us live up to "His" expectations of and for us.
Lent is the road to forgiveness for all. God sent Jesus to do this for us. It was a very important thing that happened.
ReplyDeletel. First of all, if you're a good student of the Lord, you have to be obedient to his teachings and learn from his words. He guides sinners like us in his ways and gives us direction for our lives. I'll be gradually more attuned to his calling, for our Lord is good and upright. I'll be a good student of the Lord and a better witness for my faith.
ReplyDelete2. As I enter the season of Lent, I have to meditate upon His Passion and love and suffering for us. Lent is a time of fasting in order to seek him day after day and to desire to know his ways and to repent of our sins and believe in the Gospel.
And also Lent is a time of charity, almsgiving with generosity, and prayer for those who need our help (the poor and oppressed). During this time we need to practice spiritual self-discipline (self-denial) which is to give up something and give up our bad habits as well, thinking of our Lord's suffering for our Redemption. God is calling us, "Return to me with all your heart." Let's return to our God with a contrite heart. Bow down before him. Repent and confess our sins. In this way we'll please him. At the same time we'll experience his Mercy and Forgiveness.