Reflections
Psalm 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
“When the Lord restored the captives of Zion,
we thought we were dreaming.”
What the Lord did for the Israelites, he does
also for us. The Jews were liberated from their
captivity by the wicked Babylonians, and we
are liberated from the captivity of sin by that same
Lord who sent His Son to save us. Just as the
woman in the Gospel this Sunday is saved from
being stoned to death, Jesus redeems all of us
from our wicked ways.
God takes pleasure in restoring us, as the psalmist
says, and his pleasure is reflected by the joy in
our hearts when we are reconciled with Him.
“Our mouths [are] filled with laughter; our tongues
[sing] with joy.” It may seem like we are dreaming
when we make our own Exodus from our past lives
of disobedience. The future may be filled with a few
of our own “dry stream beds,” but if we are diligent
and sow the seeds of repentance, we will be rewarded
with a bountiful harvest and as the psalmist says,
“we will reap with cries of joy.”
We join with our psalmist who says, “The Lord has
done great things for us,” because there is good
news for us too -- we have the Messiah to lead
us in our own spiritual Exodus, away from slavery to sin,
and put us under the gentle yoke of Christ our Savior.
This is a message of hope; it is a calling that is future
oriented – Isaiah, in our 1st reading, says the Lord
is doing something new; St. Paul (2nd reading) says
that faith will lead us to an “upward calling” in Christ,
and to the goal of our own resurrection from the dead.
For a better future we must do our part -- we must
sow the seeds in order to gain repentance.
“Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy.”
Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery –
she is given a chance to repent and to pass from death
to life. In the same way a seed dies and produces a
harvest – “Those who go forth weeping, carrying
sacks of seed, will return with cries of joy, carrying
their bundled sheaves.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist speaks of the the Jewish captives being set free
and brought back from Babylon. Tell of your own liberation
this Lenten season from being captive to sin.
2. The psalm contains a message of hope for us all -- that we shall
reap joyfully in the days ahead. Share how you expect to be raised up
with the Lord as we approach our Easter celebration.
In the time of Lent, the song of Hosea echoes in my ears, "Come back to me with all your heart." Our hideous sins must have been held captive. In the eyes of God we human beings are unfaithful, in spite of His keeping calling us to come back to Him. On the contrary, His love for us is faithful. My broken spirit has been healed whenever I was burdened by grief and sorrow of sin. He binds my wounds with love. Through the sacrament of confession He washed away my sins and set me free. Through His mercy I expect to be restored to my good health as I wait for Easter, not only for spiritual rebirth and renewal but physical restoration. I'll be filled with the joy of inner healing.
ReplyDeleteFaced with the attraction of sinning, we, who are "Cradle Catholics," have grown up with large doses of Catholic guilt, which in fact, probably helps keep us from sinning much of the time.
ReplyDeleteLast Friday, I had a doctor's appointment, and when my Doctor told me that the nurse was incorrect, and that I did "not" have diabetes, I had so much appreciation, thankfulness and joy, that I felt like singing.