Reflections
Psalm 29: 1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 (Read)
“The God of glory thunders.”
The Psalm is about the splendor and the
power of God. “Give to the Lord the glory
due God’s name. Bow down before the
Lord’s holy splendor.” The Psalm speaks
of the voice of the Lord “thundering” over
the waters. “The voice of the Lord is
power; the voice of the Lord is splendor.”
God's awesome voice was heard over the
Jordan River that day when the heavens
were torn open and the Holy Spirit descended
upon Jesus just after He was baptized. What
could be more powerful than the voice of God
declaring, “This is my beloved Son, with whom
I am well pleased.” (Gospel, Matthew 3:17)
What happened at the Jordan River that day
was to fulfill what God said to the prophet Isaiah –
“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen
one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have
put my spirit.” (Isaiah 42:1)
The baptism of our Lord may have happened
over 2000 years ago, but on that day God
anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power,
the power to serve the faithful (people like us),
and to do battle on our behalf with the
devil. (Acts 10:38)
From that time forward we too became eligible
to serve the Lord as His chosen ones. Isaiah
tells us what our spiritual mission is to be:
like Jesus, we are to be a light to the nations,
and open the eyes of the blind (those who do
not know the Lord). (Isaiah 42:6-7)
And imitating Jesus, we are to bring out
prisoners from confinement (those who may
be imprisoned by sin). What better way
would there be for us to serve the Lord?
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm's verses speak of the power and splendor of the voice
of the Lord, thundering over the waters. Have you heard God's powerful
voice speaking to you, anointing you as one of His chosen ones?
Explain.
2. Our psalmist encourages us to give God the glory due His holy name.
Tell of how you give God the glory in your activities and your everyday life.
Our psalmist David says that the Glory of God thunders. The voice of the Lord is over water and nature and is powerful and awesome, strong enough to break in pieces the cedars of Lebanon, and strikes with flashes of lightning. God has revealed his power over nature throughout history. We people are under his complete control. Let’s give glory to the Lord and worship him.
ReplyDeleteWhen I feel weak, helpless and limited, He helps me with my problems saying, “Don’t despair.” He helps me to rise up from my death spirit and my confinement when I am imprisoned by sin. The Lord gives me strength and blesses me with peace due to his holy name.
In my daily life I try to serve the Lord and do his will, but there were many times I experienced frustration. Whenever I acknowledge that his glory thunders over me His powerful voice casts out, drives out the power of darkness which imprisoned me. And so I put on the armor of light.
I finally realized that when I pray with others who are in the power of darkness and do not know the way, I am to imitate Jesus who helped people who are imprisoned by sin. I am still learning and hearing his powerful voice, “Do not be anxious, pray about everything.” The one who knows our hearts and minds will guide us to peace of mind, will give us the best solution in His time. He is in control over our daily lives and activities.
The Lord blesses his people, we give him “Glory.”
Amen