Reflections
Psalm 15: 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 (Read)
“One who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.”
holy mountain of God and live in the presence of the Lord.
And in a similar way, in Sunday's first reading,
Moses tells the Israelites how to take possession
of the promised land. (Deuteronomy 4:1)
The way forward for the Israelites and for us is twofold --
love God and love neighbor. If I truly love the Lord,
then my heart will not be far from Him, and I will keep
His commandments. 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; we are to
keep ourselves unstained by the world. (James 1:22, 27)
And Jesus reminds us in the Gospel that it all starts
from inside. It is within our hearts that evil thoughts
reside. The things that come out from within are
what defile us. (Mark 7:15, 20-23)
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 you are motivated by your faith to become a doer of the Word.
Psalm 15 tell us what believers are like on the inside. A believer is a person that believes in the LORD. We call them Christians today. Only God sees inside us. This psalm tells us also what believers are like on the outside. This is what everyone sees.
ReplyDeleteThere is no temple today. Soldiers destroyed it about 2000 years ago. Jesus told his friends that He would make them another house. It will be in heaven. We do believe that Psalm 15 is about that house in heaven.
Therefore In singing this psalm we must teach and admonish ourselves, and one another, to answer the characters here given of the citizen of Zion, that we may never be moved from God's tabernacle on earth, and may arrive, at last, at that holy hill where we shall be forever out of the reach of temptation and danger.
“How do you prepare your heart so that you are able to receive the Lord?"
ReplyDeleteEach of us is different, but these are proven ways that make sense to me:
(1) Frequent a place that you feel is God filled. For me it’s an area that is God Created, the sea shore, a lake, the ocean, an amazing view, majestic trees, beautiful gardens; (2) Visit a Holy Site. In our garden we have a saying…... “One is closer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth;” (3) Hang out with good people that are with the Lord; (4) Read a good book, go to a sanctuary, go to a good religious movie. Put yourself in a calming, peaceful situation; (5) Speak to God as you would a close friend or family member. If a more formal prayer is more to your liking, then pray.
We all wish to live in the presence of the Lord. God calls his people to keep the 10 Commandments to be righteous. But we live among evil people. We are influenced by the evil society where morals are eroding. Our purity of heart is fading.
ReplyDeleteTo tell the truth, I sometimes spoke evil towards my neighbor and I did harm to my fellow people. I have realized the importance of controlling my tongue. If I wish to have a right relationship with Jesus Christ, I have to love my neighbor because
God loves them equally. He created and formed them in His image for His Glory.
According to James 2:17, "Faith that is not accompanied by action is dead." A person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. Faith without deeds is dead. I have realized again that my faith will be made complete by what I do as a doer. To keep His Commandments is hard but as long as my heart and my motive are pure, He will forgive my sins. He will allow me to live in the presence of His Temple.
As a teenager in the modern world, I find it is challenging to be a Doer of the Word.
ReplyDeleteI keep up with a busy schedule, and it is so easy to lose track in my faith because I am surrounded by people and me, telling myself that I have to be better at this or try harder for that. I feel like I get so caught up in what others say and what I think is important, that I end up distancing myself from the Lord. I become angry, frustrated, and talk myself into things. I can and have blamed or harmed others, and I realize what power we have.
Recently, I have done about 32 hours of community service. While this is a requirement for school, I also learned that I enjoy serving others. It is calming and I feel satisfied, and this is one way I try to use my faith to motivate me to spread the Word of the Lord.