Reflections
“You
anoint my head with oil.”
Just
as David was anointed by Samuel,
so
too we are chosen by the Lord to be
His
servants and to do His work.
Our
own family members may scoff at this,
and
we may think we are least likely to succeed
as
a servant of God. But the Lord anoints ordinary
people
to do extraordinary things. The weak
are
chosen to shame the strong.
Where
does the power come from to do the
Lord's
work? Like David, we
are anointed
with
oil by the Lord, and we make a covenant
with
Him. Our trust in the Lord is rewarded.
We
must do as David did and open our hearts
to
receive the Holy Spirit. St Paul says it another
way
in this Sunday's second reading –
“Awake O' sleeper, and
Christ will give you light.”
Sunday's
Gospel shows us that Jesus came to cure
our
spiritual blindness. We lack nothing when we
trust
in the Lord. We
fear nothing, even when our
lives
are at a low point spiritually or physically.
Our
eyes are opened by our trust in the Lord;
we
are led out of the dark valley of sin,
where
we did fruitless things in secret.
Our
response, as the psalmist says, is to let
the Lord lead
us, to listen to Him, and to take
courage from Him. God
sends his Son to save us
and His Spirit to live within
us. “Surely goodness
and mercy will follow us all
the days of our life,
and we shall dwell in the house
of
the Lord forever.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist says that the Lord guides us in right paths for His name's sake.
1. Our psalmist says that the Lord guides us in right paths for His name's sake.
Do you feel chosen to do God's will? If so, how are you overcoming any obstacles
to make it happen?
2. The Psalm's verses affirm, 'The Lord is at my side, with His rod and His staff that
2. The Psalm's verses affirm, 'The Lord is at my side, with His rod and His staff that
give me courage.' Are you empowered to serve God and live out the Gospel?
Give an
example.
Carol and I are firm believers that we, and all of us, are God’s hands, feet, proclaimers, doers etc ... etc. That’s His plan … we are the ones, and it is up to us to get His message out there. We recognized the Eucharistic Minister that gave us Communion at the Saturday evening Mass, and learned that she was going thru a very tough time. On the way home, we bought her a bouquet of flowers and walked over to her house, and said, “Thank you for all that you do. We are your new neighbors, and introduced ourselves.” She was flabbergasted, and just beamed.
ReplyDeleteThis psalm is inviting us to know in our heart that the Lord is our Shepherd. The knowledge of that relationship not only comforts and strengthens us, but also it challenges us to look into our hearts, to see the love the Good Shepherd has for us and to respond by faithfully following Him and committing our lives to Him.
ReplyDeleteWhen we truly know the Lord as our Shepherd, we know we have a God who hears us, we have the power of love behind us, the Holy Spirit within us, all heaven ahead of us, we have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm - we have everything we need.
May we truly know the confidence and contentment which is found from a relationship with God and may we like the Psalmist be able to boldly say from deep within our hearts that, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.'
I believe I am chosen to do God's will. In fact, I believe we are ALL chosen to do God's will, and His anointing is on all of His children. The challenge comes in as we recognize that we are anointed to do different tasks for the kingdom of heaven; we cannot look at our neighbor's gifts and seemingly-easy journey and decide that ours is too difficult or insignificant. Additionally, we may not fully activate the anointing in our own lives if we live in spiritual darkness.
ReplyDeleteAs we see in the Psalm, the Lord does not leave us in want. Green pastures, still waters, restoration of my soul all precede guidance in the paths of righteousness. Our Father and Shepherd knows that we will feel blessed and at peace when we listen. His will is the best for us.
When this is hard to accept, I ask that my heart be touched and that I change. Instead of God's will changing to fit my plan, I pray that my heart changes to fit God's plan. This is the simplest solution to all heartaches and anxieties and the surest way to overcome spiritual and worldly obstacles.