Psalm 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8 (Read)
“May God bless us, and may He let His face shine upon us.”
So much that God does for us is contained in the
above verse from this Sunday's Psalm:
God gives us His grace through His son Jesus,
who is our Savior.
God gives us material blessings –
all our treasure and gifts are from Him.
He gives us spiritual blessings –
we know these as fruits of the spirit.
No wonder the Gentiles (people like us)
were attracted to the faith when St Paul
and Barnabas were traveling through
the towns, visiting the early churches,
and ministering to the Gentiles. The apostles
were doing as Jesus did when He encountered
the Canaanite woman in the region of Tyre
and Sidon (Gospel, Mt 15:21-28).
Though she was not a member of the house
of Israel, Jesus recognized how great was
her faith, and the woman's daughter was
healed from that hour.
By ministering to the Gentiles the 'way' of
the Lord became known upon earth among
all the nations, as the Psalm says. Indeed
the Psalm predicts that God’s saving power
shall be known among all the peoples.
Thankfully, that includes us.
Today we join with the members of the early
church in praising God – “May the peoples praise
you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm petitions God to 'Let His face shine upon us.'
In what way do you believe that God has let His face shine
upon you?
2. Our psalmist calls for God's salvation to be known
among all the nations. How are you evangelizing to those
who do not know His saving grace?
“In what way do you believe that God has let His face shine upon you?”
ReplyDeleteCarol and I are firm believers that we and others are God’s mouth, hands, and feet. This became very clear to us when we’ve traveled in foreign countries. When you are the foreigner, and new in the country, you’re on your left foot….you have to depend on others for help and advice. Again, you just have to use common sense, and slow down and listen.
This morning, we decided to get rid of the 6 foot tall, heavy and awkward, patio heater. We managed to get it to the driveway, but stopped as we couldn’t lift it up onto our pickup truck bed. As we stood there, a young man drove by and stopped his truck. He told us his name was Rafael and he had painted our house 10 years ago, and then asked if he could help us load the heater into the pickup truck. AMAZING…GOD IN ACTION, USING HIS PEOPLE TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE! He helped us, I asked him for some business cards to hand out to neighbors who were talking about painting their houses, and he was gone. THANK YOU GOD, for helping us one more time.
The Psalm predicts that God's saving power shall be known among all the peoples. As Jesus commanded, the Gospel should be taken to all nations, and the Good News should be proclaimed to even gentiles like us. By evangelizing and ministering to those who do not know His saving grace (God's Salvation), God will have let His face shine upon us.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the story of the Canaanite woman, how her demon possessed daughter was healed, I learned about two things that Jesus Christ tried to teach us. First, we have to persist until Jesus says "Yes," even if our request is ignored at first and He seems distant at times. Secondly, He tests our faith in Him. He treasures persistence. He will never reject our request if we persist. He sees our faith in Him within us.
May the nations be glad and sing for joy. God's Salvation includes the gentiles like us.
2. I try my best to evangelize to those who do not know His saving grace. For school and for me, I enjoy doing community service, especially helping others without enough money. Currently, I am helping out at a food bank where people order what they wish and I "shop" for them and bring their groceries out. After handing the people their groceries, I always say "God bless and have a wonderful day." When I say this, I feel like their whole day brightens and mine does too because of His presence and saving grace.
ReplyDelete