Reflections
“Let the coming generation be told of the Lord.”
The verses of this Sunday's Psalm are uplifting
and speak of the promise of salvation --
“The lowly shall eat their fill,”
(We who are poor in spirit are to live
life abundantly) and,
“May your hearts live forever!”
(We can count on the Lord for salvation.)
And praying these verses we recall that
the suffering of the righteous man
has brought about something good
in our human world.
“All the ends of the earth
will worship and turn to the Lord.”
“The generations to come
will proclaim to a people yet unborn
the deliverance you have brought.”
Our hope returns, and we join with
all the families of nations in giving
thanks to God, who rules the world
and dispenses justice.
all the families of nations in giving
thanks to God, who rules the world
and dispenses justice.
Jesus says in today's Gospel, “You can only
bear fruit if you remain in me.” (John 15:4)
bear fruit if you remain in me.” (John 15:4)
And how do we remain in Him?
The psalm says, “I will fulfill my vows
before those who fear the LORD.”
(We are to keep His commandments.)
Finally, our psalmist commits that his
descendants will serve the Lord,
descendants will serve the Lord,
“The generation to come will be told of
the Lord.” Here we are inspired by Sunday's
first reading where Barnabas reports that Saul
the Lord.” Here we are inspired by Sunday's
first reading where Barnabas reports that Saul
spoke out boldly in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:27)
What better way for us to bear fruit, than to speak
out boldly for our faith, to our children and
grandchildren!
out boldly for our faith, to our children and
grandchildren!
“To him my soul shall live.”
The Psalm ends with a reversal of
the righteous man's condition;
life is restored and the whole world
celebrates his deliverance.
What better Easter message is there than that?
And what more inspiring words for the early
Church as it reaches out to proclaim
the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist says, "I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the Lord."
Does this verse inspire you to confirm your faith boldly and take up God's praise
in the company of your fellow believers? Discuss.
2. The Psalm ends with an uplifting call for us to proclaim the Lord's truth to the next generation. Describe how you have answered the Lord's call and how you are telling others about God's love.
The Leviticus book is full of rules. One rule is in Leviticus 7:16. It says, "Eat your sacrifice on the day that you make your promise". A sacrifice was an animal that the Jews killed. They burned part of it. This was God's part. They ate the other part. This psalm is about this. The rich and the poor will eat the sacrifice. As a result people will praise God (verse 26) and worship God (verse 29).
ReplyDeleteOn the evening before he died, Jesus ate supper with his friends. We call this supper the Last Supper. On that Friday, Jesus was the sacrifice. He went to heaven, where God lives. That was God's part. Our part is the Lord's Supper. When we eat the Lord's Supper:
· we remember that Jesus died for us
· we tell everybody that Jesus died for us
· we remember that Jesus will come back to the earth
Psalm 22 gives us help to remember all this. It is very important to tell our children. What do we tell them? We tell them that GOD HAS DONE IT! Jesus was God. Jesus died for us. But Jesus rose from the dead. He is alive today. He is alive in Heaven. He is alive in the Church.
I find it amazing that Psalm 22 is the same Psalm that Jesus quotes when he is upon the cross, facing death. The early words of David cry out to God, even if the Lord feels far away, perhaps having forsaken his beloved son.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Jesus can utter those words in faith, because the remainder of the Psalm, which we highlight this week, takes the believer on a journey towards God's goodness, the rescue of his people.
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations." (V.26-27)
These are words of victory over death, over the enemy, and over "chronos" time. Jesus' physical death is but for a moment, but his resurrection power is forever, for all of us who believe.
If Jesus knew to speak the words that begin in despair, but end in deliverance... then he is showing us also to learn our faith and share those words of conquest "to a people yet unborn." (V.30) This could mean our children, grandchildren, and those to come who will one day taste salvation because they learned it from a faithful heart. It could also mean those who are not yet born into the faith -- people who are ripe for conversion, readying to be baptized, wanting to return to the Church, or those who simply have yet to encounter Jesus.
How pressing it is for each of us to play a part in God's salvation plan -- he opens his heart for ALL people. We just need to say "yes" to the role by abiding in him and producing healthy fruit, so that others may learn and produce fruit too.