Psalm for Sunday, September 22, 2013

Reflections
 
Psalm 113:  1-2, 4-6, 7-8 (Read)
 
“He raises up the lowly from the dust.”
 
This Psalm teaches us once again that
our God, who is at once exalted above
all men, is willing to stoop low and to raise
us up to His own level.   God reverses common
wisdom, and we who are called His servants
are lifted up out of the dung heap of life and
treated as royalty in His kingdom.
 
“Who is like the Lord, our God, who is enthroned
on high and looks upon the heavens and the earth
below.”   It is God's nature to seek out the lowly
and the afflicted ones of this world, and who is to say
that we are not all afflicted?
 
Christ Jesus shows an amazing ability to bring up
to His level the outcast of society – the poor, the
lowly, the barren.  Often criticized for eating and
drinking with sinners, our Savior shows us how
to behave toward our neighbors, to understand
the it is the sick who need a physician.
 
Jesus' behavior is in sharp contrast to the conduct
of the merchants described in our 1st reading (Amos 8).
They have undisguised contempt for the poor whom
they are exploiting.   But Jesus reminds us that the
poor have a divine and powerful advocate.   The
compassion of our Lord reaches down to those
whom the powerful of the earth regard as nothing.
Jesus devotes his spiritual wealth and loving attention
not to those who can give something in return, but to
those whom the world disregards.  
 
With such a loving God in our midst, we are inspired
to become like Him, and to join with our psalmist and
sing praise to our God, and praise his name.
 
Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our Psalm reminds us that the Lord on high
reaches down to our human level to lift us up.
How can it be that our God, who is exalted above
all nations, is willing to stoop to our lowly level
and show concern for us?
 
2.  What does it mean when our psalmist says
that God raises up the lowly from the dust and
seats them with princes?