Reflections
Psalm 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15 (Read)
“Create a clean heart in me, O God.”
This Sunday's Psalm is David’s mea culpa
and is written after Nathan calls attention
to David’s adultery with Bathsheba. We are
shown in the Psalm that although David was
chosen by God to be king, even David sins
gravely. But God in His compassion and
goodness can blot out David’s offense,
no matter how grave.
David realizes that only God, in His mercy,
can cleanse David from his sins. David’s sins,
David realizes that only God, in His mercy,
can cleanse David from his sins. David’s sins,
like our own, are offensive to God first and
foremost; we are all born of a sinful nature.
David calls on the Lord to blot out his offense,
knowing that the Lord, in His abundant
David calls on the Lord to blot out his offense,
knowing that the Lord, in His abundant
compassion, will wash away his guilt.
David’s words are a prayer of repentance and recall
David’s words are a prayer of repentance and recall
for us the power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
“A clean heart create for me, O God; renew within me
“A clean heart create for me, O God; renew within me
a steadfast spirit. Give me back the joy of your salvation.”
Where else can we turn when we are separated from God?
Who else has the healing power to cleanse us?
“Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me
Where else can we turn when we are separated from God?
Who else has the healing power to cleanse us?
“Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me
your Holy Spirit.” David reminds us that without the Holy
Spirit we are ruled by the desires of this world. And without
the Holy Spirit we cannot bear the fruits of the Spirit,
which we are called to do.
The people of Jeremiah’s time were given the assurance
which we are called to do.
The people of Jeremiah’s time were given the assurance
that David sought. They were assured that the Lord would
forgive their evildoing, their own infidelity to God, and that
their sin would be remembered no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)
On David's part we can almost hear his loud cries and see
On David's part we can almost hear his loud cries and see
his tears, as he offers this psalm as prayer and seeks his
own inner renewal. When Christ was in the flesh, this is
how He himself prayed, as we are reminded in Sunday's
second reading. (Hebrews 5:7)
David prays that God will create for him a clean heart,
because God alone can bring about this transformation.
We, too, are called to seek our Savior’s mercy for our sinful
David prays that God will create for him a clean heart,
because God alone can bring about this transformation.
We, too, are called to seek our Savior’s mercy for our sinful
ways, especially during this Lenten season. We, too, are
given an opportunity to be restored in the joy of His Salvation,
to offer up what is dead within us, so that we can again bear
fruit and be good witnesses for the Lord. (John 12: 24)
In that way, we will then teach the wicked, God's ways,
In that way, we will then teach the wicked, God's ways,
and our mouths will proclaim His praise.
Amen
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist King David cites the greatness of the Lord's compassion in calling
upon God to wipe out his offense. Even though David was an adulterer and
a murderer, he knew that he could call upon the Lord to restore him and create
for him a clean heart. Does this give you confidence that no matter how serious
your sins may be, you can call upon God to be thoroughly cleansed? Explain.
2. As our psalmist implies, it is not enough to call upon God to create a clean
2. As our psalmist implies, it is not enough to call upon God to create a clean
heart within us. We must also ask for a steadfast spirit, for the Holy Spirit to be
sustained within us. Tell how the Holy Spirit is working within you and what you
are inspired to do through the gifts of the Spirit.
Throughout salvation history, we see the Lord's hand turn around the lives of murderers, adulterers, prostitutes, fornicators, idolaters, and more. Our Master Creator knew full well that his beloved creations, though they bear His image, would be prone to sin.
ReplyDeleteYet, it gives me great confidence to see how God has cleansed the sin of man's greatest offenses, and still used these men and women for his higher purposes -- Moses, David, Rahab, Mary Magdalene, Solomon, and Paul, just to name a few.
It is easy to think that in our modern age, I have not sinned on the same level. A closer examination of conscience proves me wrong. I have killed another's spirit in an angry tirade. Perhaps I have murdered another's reputation in my idle talk. I have celebrated the physical beauty of others -- sometimes, to the point of lust, idolatry, and envy. My sins are many -- and yet, God calls me each day to prayer, to His Word, and to fellowship with Him and others. If anything good can come out of this broken vessel that is me, it is the Lord's light and His doing.
Jesus prayed with "loud cries and tears" as we see in the second reading. (Hebrews 5:7) In His humanity, he was praying "to Him who was able to save Him from death..." In Psalm 51, David also prays with expressive groans and pleas throughout, to save him from sin's death. Verse 4 says, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" Verse 13 says, "Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me."
Long before Pentecost, David pinpoints the power of the Holy Spirit. He needs the person of the Spirit to help in his restoration to joy, and good standing with the Lord. And he needs the Holy Spirit to wash over and make his own spirit willing to change.
I, too, rely on the Holy Spirit. His gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, seem to come and go in my life. I am working to cultivate them as soon as I recognize their working presence in my thoughts and deeds. It is as if I want to hold onto them, but they seem to grow stronger as I use the gifts and share them with others -- such as through Bible Study, listening to another's difficult journey, intercessory prayer, and practicing forgiveness of another.