These reflections on the Psalms by Barry Lamont talk of how we apply the verses of the Psalms to our everyday life and how the Psalms can inspire us, convict us, teach us, and strengthen our faith.
We are called to serve God and to do His will, as Jesus did. And so our eyes must be on God, that we may know His will for us, and that we may serve Him and our neighbor as well.
Where else would we turn?
To be measured by men?
To get direction from anyone else?
Like the prophet Ezekiel, our success is measured by doing God’s will and
following His direction in our
lives. (Ezekiel 2: 2-5)
Our psalmist says, “We have our fill of contempt;
we have our fill of insult from the proud.”
For it is the arrogant ones who rely only on themselves, giving little thought to God.
Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was not respected in his home town; he was rejected
by his townspeople and neighbors. (Mark 6: 4-5)
Is that what we face from family or friends,
when we do the Lord’s work or proclaim his Gospel? If so, then we are united with Christ,
and like St Paul, we can be content with insults,
hardships, persecutions and constraints.
The Lord's grace is sufficient for
us. (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist calls for us to fix our eyes on the Lord.
Describe how you focus on the Lord in your faith journey.
Tell how you are able to discern God's will for your life.
2. Our psalmist says he is fed up, having been the object of contempt and mockery from the arrogant ones around him.
Even Jesus was mocked in his native village. Tell of how you deal with insult and persecution when you proclaim the Gospel.
God is in the business of healing, as our first reading says. (Wisdom 1:13)
God did not make death, nor does He rejoice
in the destruction of the living.
“His divine favor lasts a lifetime.”
Just as Jairus' daughter is saved from death
in this Sunday's Gospel (Mark 5:41-42),
we too are able to be saved from going down into the pit. We too are eligible for a spiritual resurrection if our faith is strong.
We may be rebuked by God for disobeying Him.
We are, after all, his wayward children,
and He loves us as a Father loves his own.
God's compassion and mercy are with us not only in this life, but in eternity. “Divine anger lasts but a moment; divine favor lasts a lifetime.”
Our Lord Jesus himself was raised up from the pit by the Father, even though Jesus bore the weight of our sins. God’s anger over the sins of all men
that Christ took upon himself, lasted but a moment.
The joy of resurrection comes to us at dawn, after a terrible night, as it came to those early followers of our Savior. “At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.” And that alone is reason enough to change our “mourning into dancing,”
“to clothe us with gladness.” We are prompted
to “sing endless praise to the Lord.”
“O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist praises God for having rescued him and brought him 'up from the netherworld.' Tell about how you have been saved from your enemies, the devil
and his companions.
2. The Psalm says that the anger of the Lord lasts but a
moment. Have you been rebuked by the Lord? If so, what did you learn from this, and in what way are you
grateful for being corrected by the Lord?
“The Lord hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea were stilled.”
In the Psalm God saves the afflicted from the storms of life. And in this Sunday's 1st reading, the Lord addresses Job out of the storm and reminds him that God alone can say, “Here shall your proud waves be stilled!” (Job 38:11)
In today's Gospel, Jesus saves the disciples from their storms of doubt that day on the Sea of Galilee. (Gospel, Mark 4:39) The disciples were like those described in the Psalm:
“Some went off to sea in ships; they saw the works of the Lord, the wonders of God in the deep.”
When we are facing the storms of life, where do we turn to be delivered from our distress? We cry out to the Lord, as the Psalm says, “In their distress, they cried out to the Lord, who brought them out of their peril,
and stilled the waves of the sea.”
Storms at sea were a constant threat to the disciples, several of whom made their living as fishermen. In today's Gospel, the disciples are filled with awe and say to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” (Mark 4:41)
That same power that delivered the disciples from the storm that day on the Sea of Galilee is available to us,
to strengthen us as we trade in deep waters and are tossed about.
We all rejoice when we are saved by the Lord.
As the psalmist says, “They rejoiced that the sea grew calm,
that God brought them to the harbor they longed for.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. In the Psalm the Lord hushed the storm and saved those who sailed the sea. Describe how God has intervened in
your life and saved you from distress.
2. Our psalmist says that God brought those sailors to the
harbor they longed for after the sea grew calm. Tell how our
Lord
has brought fair winds and following seas to your life and given
you
the direction you desire.
"Lord, it is good to give thanks to you." Displaying an attitude of gratitude. Sending a thank-you note.
Saying your "please and thank you’s.” Such are lessons we
teach our children as we train them in what is socially proper. If
only we would spend as much time considering what is proper in the
spiritual sense.
God our Creator is all-deserving and worthy of our praise.
A well-known prayer guide pinpoints five essential elements of
prayer. Adoration, Confession, Petition, and Intercession,
are ALWAYS followed by Thanksgiving. Psalm 92:1 is often quoted in support: "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your
name, Most High."
Also to be noted is the use of the word "sing" in that first
verse.
The Lord loves to hear our voices in song. Thus, hymns of any sort are an integral part of worship. Something about singing focuses our hearts on Jesus and softens his heart to accept our prayerful pleas.
Our Abba Father gives us our days in 24 hour increments.
Could we handle any more? His grace is enough for each day;
the psalmist writes, "It is good to proclaim your kindness at
dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night."
The cedar of Lebanon is a mighty and beautiful tree referenced
throughout Scripture. In this Sunday's first reading, a small
cedar shoot is replanted and compared to a "majestic cedar" as it grows strong
with its roots firmly planted. (Ezekiel 17:22-23) The Psalm says, “The just
one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow."
Later, the psalmist writes, "They shall bear fruit even in old
age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be." Living in a righteous manner, with the foundations of our beliefs firmly rooted, we too are called to have the strength and fruitfulness of the cedar, even unto the
very end of our earthly lives.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. "Lord, you are holy indeed. It is right to give you thanks
and praise."
These are familiar words to any Mass-goer. How do you
sincerely give thanks
to the Lord in your daily life?
2. How can you become more like the upright palm treeor the majestic and firmly-rooted Lebanese cedar? Do others see you as a just and righteous person
through your everyday speech and actions? What can you change about yourself so that you, too,can "bear fruit even in old age?"
“I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.”
This saving cup is the same cup that we share
each time we participate in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It is the cup of the blood that Jesus shed to mark the new covenant with people of faith.
We are saved by Christ; He is the divine victim.
Our psalmist asks, “How can I repay the Lord
for all the good He has done for me?”
The Psalm affirms, “Precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.” What could be more costly than the death of God’s only son? Yet God consented to the death of his Son because of his love for us; God did not spare Him. Once again we ask,
“How can I repay the Lord for all the good He has done for me?”
Certainly we are all obliged to pay our vows to the Lord,
to give Him praise, to obey his commandments, and to do his will. As the Psalm says, “My vows to the Lord I will pay
in the presence of all his people.”
We are to praise Him and worship Him in the presence of the community. It is not just between us and God.
We are part of a community, and we are to acknowledge Him and bow down to Him publicly. And we are to proclaim the Gospel!
Our psalmist says, “O Lord, I am your servant, you have loosed my bonds.” We are made free by becoming the Lord's servant. That is how it is when we follow his commandments and do his will. It is not something that binds us. Rather, it is something that sets us free.
We take delight in serving the Lord.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmists asks, "How can I repay the Lord for all the
good He has done for me?"
Explain how you would answer this question.
2. When you "take the cup of salvation," do you receive our
Lord's saving power?
Say how you respond when you eat His body and drink His blood.
