Reflections
“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 the level
of princes.
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
that
it is the sick who need
a
physician.
Jesus'
behavior is in sharp contrast
to
the conduct of the merchants described
in
Sunday's first
reading. (Amos
8:4-7)
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?
That the Creator of the Universe would stoop down and lift us up out of our self-created mire is nothing short of a miracle. It's the example of true love.
ReplyDeleteHe formed us in His image and holds us dear to His heart. If we are to stray, it hurts Him. As we see in this week's second reading, 1 Timothy 2:4, His Holy will is that "ALL men will be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." Therefore, in His infinite mercy, He regularly lowers Himself to rescue us -- even if it's 2,000-plus years after His ultimate act of love, sending His only Son to die as a ransom for our sins.
The Highest Being ever to have existed, Our Father, knows how to bend as low as He needs to, in order to reach us. He meets us where we are. Such extremes as highest to lowest, top to bottom, east to west, are found throughout His word.
Simply put, in God's economy, all the rules are reversed. The last shall be first and the first shall be last. The lowly shall be treated like royalty, "seated with princes." God looks at our hearts to sense if we are worthy of heavenly promotion, while the world judges by our status, money, and outward appearance. If we know this truth, we must strive to see as He does. We pray for the eyes of Jesus.
Who is like the Lord, our God? The psalmist reminds us again in Psalm 113 that all people are valuable in God's eyes regardless of social status, race, whether poor or rich, and whether healthy or afflicted. In His compassion toward human beings on earth, God is willing to stoop low and raise us up to His high level from the dust.
ReplyDeleteNow I can see God's nature is to seek out the lowly and the sick ones of this world even though He is enthroned on high. By His mercy God looks down on the earth below and chooses the uneducated from among the social outcasts and uses them as His future advocates, raising them up high from the dust.
Praise the Lord!