Reflections
Psalm 34: 2-3, 17-18, 19, 23 (Read)
“Those who are crushed in spirit He saves.”
David's psalm assures us,
“The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”
The word poor is said to apply to one
who depends completely on God
for his deliverance and his very life.
This is true for David as he is being
pursued by his enemy. It is true for us
in our own personal battle against the
evil one. With God on our side victory
is certain. “The Lord confronts the
evildoers, to destroy remembrance
of them from the earth.”
St Paul is rescued from the lion's mouth
and is empowered by the Lord to finish
the race, to keep the faith, to complete
the proclamation. In his own words,
“The Lord stood by me and gave me
strength.” (2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 17)
David affirms this, “The Lord redeems
the lives of His servants; no one incurs
guilt who takes refuge in Him.”
The Psalm says our prayers are heard
if we have a right relationship with the Lord,
“When the just cry out, the Lord hears them.”
This is confirmed by the writer of Sirach --
“The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer
of the lowly pierces the clouds.” (Sirach 35: 20-21)
Jesus teaches us in this Sunday’s Gospel,
“The one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The tax collector preserves his relationship with
God and goes home justified. (Luke 18: 13-14)
That too is part of being poor in spirit. If we want
the Lord to be on our side, then we need
to humble ourselves and recognize
our own lowly status.
And having done all that we can to keep a just
relationship with our God, then we are to bless
the Lord at all times, keep his praise ever in our
mouths, and as the psalm says, “Let my soul
glory in the Lord.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm tells us that God lifts up those who are crushed in spirit.
However difficult it may be for us to be humble in spirit, we can speak
of how gratifying it is for us to depend solely on the Lord for our salvation.
Tell of what this means to you personally.
2. The verses of the Psalm tell us how to be sure that our prayers are heard.
Our psalmist encourages us to have a right relationship with the Lord before
we pray. What is it that you do to be sure that your prayers reach the ears
of the Lord?
I depend solely on the Lord for my salvation. In previous comments here, I have shared an image that is helpful to me: each of us is created with a God-shaped hole in our hearts. No matter how hard I try, I cannot fill that hole to find contentment and completion with anything else. Oh, I try... worldly achievements, the success of my children, idle talk, excessive shopping, even good food and drink.
ReplyDeleteBut in the dark of the night, when the house is dead silent, my body tries to relax, and fear settles in. My heart and mind begin to race with anxiety. I am restless.
The only method to feel filled-up and at peace is to humbly come before God and ask for His help, His intervention, His mercy, His wisdom... the list can go on.
I think there is a key difference in the use of the word “justice” and “justified,” both of which we see in this week’s readings. According to the Didache Bible Dictionary, “justice” means rendering to God and each person his or her due. In Sirach, we see that God is a God of justice and knows no favorites. In the Gospel, we see that the tax collector is “justified” meaning being made right (righteous) with God by grace. (Didache Bible Dictionary) The Lord’s compassion wraps up this sincere and repentant sinner and fulfills his prayer.
If I am honest with myself and before God, I am too “crushed in spirit”... too sinful to even lift up my voice and my eyes to the Almighty. However... because of His abundant grace on me, like the tax collector, I am enabled to come to Him in prayer. Only God can shower this divine grace on me.
Any Christian can relate to this concept of free grace and the roles of Jesus and the Holy Spirit as Three in One. As Catholics, I believe we have even more truths to help us encounter that grace through our Blessed Mother, the saints, and perhaps most importantly, the Holy Eucharist.