Reflections
Psalm 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24 (Read)
“I
was hard pressed and was falling,
but
the Lord came to my help.”
Once
again we visit this powerful psalm of praise
and
thanksgiving. This time the verses stress
the
enduring love that God has for us – so much so
that
despite the part we played in crucifying His son,
God
went ahead and carried out His plan to save us.
“God’s
mercy endures forever.”
“I
was hard pressed and falling, but the Lord came
to
my help.” This verse could be about us. Are we
any
different from our psalmist, any less desperate
or
in need of the Lord's healing power
and presence
in
our lives?
“My
strength and my courage is the Lord.” He is
present
to us, just as He was in those early days of the
church
described in today's 1st
reading (Acts 2: 42-47),
and
in the Gospel (John 20: 19-31). We may not have
the
awesome experience of physically putting our hand
in
the Lord’s side and our fingers into the nail marks
on
His hand, but He is with us.
We
are victorious over death. The Lord’s deliverance
is
cause for joy. Just when we were down, the Lord raises
us
up. “I was hard pressed and falling, but the Lord has
been
my Savior.” The joyful shout of victory is heard.
We
are on firm ground after all – Christ has become our
cornerstone,
as our psalmist reminds us. Christ has become
a
source of strength for us, despite His apparent weakness
that
day on the cross, when He died a shameful death.
The
Lord is present
to us when we are frightened as He
was
present to those frightened disciples
in the upper room.
Who
would have been more hard pressed and falling
than
they were before Jesus appeared to them and blessed
them and
extended
His peace to them? That same source of
strength and
might the psalmist
speaks of is available to us;
all we have to
do is open our hearts and receive His saving grace.
As
Peter tells us in today's 2nd
reading (1 Peter 1: 3-9), Christ’s
resurrection gives us a living
hope and a powerful faith. This is
cause
for rejoicing: “By the Lord has this been done; it is
wonderful
in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made.”
Along
with the disciples and the early church, “Let us be glad
and
rejoice in it.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist was 'hard pressed and falling,' but affirms that the Lord has been
his savior. Describe how you have been
saved by the Lord and given strength and
courage by Him.
2. The Psalm declares, "The joyful shout of victory is heard." Speak of what makes
2. The Psalm declares, "The joyful shout of victory is heard." Speak of what makes
you joyful during this Easter season, and tell of how you have shouted and rejoiced
in the Lord's
resurrection.
“PRAISE THE LORD,… THE CHRIST HAS RISEN”…… the cornerstone of our faith. We have the gift of hindsight. We have the gift of being able to study the history of the Messianic
ReplyDeletePeriod and verifying what was told by the ancient Prophets. Those that lived at the time of Christ did not have that advantage, BUT, they had a chance to see and listen first hand to Christ in action. How would we have reacted, if we had been there. Would we have denied Christ 3 times??????
We live in interesting times.
Indeed...I am hard pressed and I am falling...hopefully into the arms of my Lord!!!
ReplyDeleteChrist is Risen, indeed He is Risen. Alleluia.
2. The Psalm declares, "The joyful shout of victory is heard." Speak of what makes you joyful during this Easter season, and tell of how you have shouted and rejoiced in the Lord's resurrection.
ReplyDeleteDuring last Saturday's Easter Vigil we celebrated over 23 Baptisms at our Parish; I was helping with the Sacristan duties. It was a great Joy to see all the new Catholics that will be growing with us during the years to come.
It was my small duty to help the Sponsors pour their pitchers of water into the baptismal font. Father said a prayer and the water from the pitchers flowed and mingled with the waters. To me this was representing God giving us the waters we need for eternal life.