Reflections
Psalm 15: 2-3, 3-4, 4-5
“The one who does justice
will live in the presence of the Lord.”
Just as Moses tells the Israelites
how to take possession
of the promised land (1st reading),
so our psalmist tells us how
we may climb the holy mountain of God
and live in the presence of the Lord.
The way forward is twofold --
love neighbor, and love God.
If I truly love the Lord,
then my heart will not be far from Him.
If I love the Lord, He will remain in me;
how else would I expect my heart
to remain pure?
When my heart is pure,
I do no harm to my fellow man;
and I think the truth in my heart.
St. James tells us to be doers
of the word (2nd reading);
we are to keep ourselves
unstained by the world.
And Jesus reminds us
in the Gospel that it all starts
from inside; it is from within
our hearts that evil thoughts reside.
The things that come out from within
are what defile us.
So if I am right with the Lord
and my heart is close to Him,
then I will not slander with my tongue
nor take up a reproach against
my neighbor. Nor will I do harm
economically to my neighbor.
If I do these things, as our psalmist says,
I shall never be disturbed,
and I will live in the presence of the Lord.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist says whoever thinks the truth in his heart
will live in the presence of the Lord. How do you go about
preparing your heart so that you are able to receive the Lord?
2. The verses of the Psalm remind us not to slander,
nor to blame our neighbor, nor to harm our fellow man,
nor to hurt him economically. Explain how being a doer
of the word is inspired by your love of the Lord.
1. Our psalmist says whoever thinks the truth in his heart
will live in the presence of the Lord. How do you go about
preparing your heart so that you are able to receive the Lord?
2. The verses of the Psalm remind us not to slander,
nor to blame our neighbor, nor to harm our fellow man,
nor to hurt him economically. Explain how being a doer
of the word is inspired by your love of the Lord.
2. What the Lord underwent for us in His Passion His faith in us is more than sufficient for me to continue to do the Lords work without ever a question.I will follow our Prince of peace without hesitation and love His people and pray and do whatever He calls me to do. He will be calling on you soon I pray you will answer His call without hesitation til you are called home.
ReplyDelete2. What the Lord underwent for us in His Passion, His faith in us, is more than sufficient for me to continue to do the Lord's work without ever a question. I will follow our Prince of Peace without hesitation and love His people and pray and do whatever He calls me to do. He will be calling on you soon. I pray you will answer His call without hesitation til you are called home.
ReplyDelete....."the way forward is twofold---love God, and love your neighbor". What a wonderful concept/belief system. It's so simple and straight forward.......it must come from God Himself. All we need to do, is make it our core philosophy, and follow it. If everybody would do it, we'd have a perfect world.
ReplyDeleteWe have to love our neighbors with our mind, our words, and with our heart. We need to think of God whenever we are talking or thinking of someone else. We must keep God close to us so that we can do what is right.
ReplyDeleteThe Psalms this week are very detailed in their instruction; the way in which they're written remind me of Proverbs, where we find key nuggets on how to live wisely. In Verses 3 and 4, we're told to use our words well, not engaging in gossip or slander, and upholding any promises we make. In Verse 5, we are warned against allowing money to control our lifestyle. Our flesh doesn't always want to follow this spirit-filled guidance. In such situations, I am reminded yet again of Proverbs. Specifically, I recall one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible: "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding." Proverbs 3:5 We may not always understand what the Word says, but we should "be doers" simply because God wants our obedience. We are not to question His methods and try to rationalize, but rather recognize that His ways are not our ways. They are infinitely better.
ReplyDeleteWe have to love our neighbors with our mind, our words, and with our heart. We need to think of God whenever we are talking or thinking of someone else. We must keep God close to us so that we can do what is right.
ReplyDeleteThe Psalm this week is very detailed in its instruction; the way in which it is written reminds me of Proverbs, where we find key nuggets on how to live wisely. In Verses 3 and 4, we're told to use our words well, not engaging in gossip or slander, and upholding any promises we make. In Verse 5, we are warned against allowing money to control our lifestyle. Our flesh doesn't always want to follow this spirit-filled guidance. In such situations, I am reminded yet again of Proverbs. Specifically, I recall one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible: "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding." (Proverbs 3:5) We may not always understand what the Word says, but we should "be doers" simply because God wants our obedience. We are not to question His methods and try to rationalize, but rather recognize that His ways are not our ways. They are infinitely better.
ReplyDelete