Psalm for Sunday, July 4, 2021

Reflections

Psalm 123: 1-2, 2, 3-4   (Read)

“Our eyes are fixed on the Lord.” 

We are called to serve God and to do  
His will, as Jesus did.  And so our eyes  
must be on God, that we may know His 
will for us, and that we may serve Him 
and our neighbor as well. 

Where else would we turn?
To be measured by men?
To get direction from anyone else?
Like the prophet Ezekiel, our success is 
measured by doing God’s will and
following His direction in our 
lives. (Ezekiel 2: 2-5)
Our psalmist says, “We have our fill of contempt;
we have our fill of insult from the proud.”
For it is the arrogant ones who rely only on
themselves, giving little thought to God.

Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was not 
respected in his home town; he was rejected 
by his townspeople and neighbors. (Mark 6: 4-5)

Is that what we face from family or friends, 
when we do the Lord’s work or proclaim his 
Gospel?  If so, then we are united with Christ,
and like St Paul, we can be content with insults, 
hardships, persecutions and constraints.
The Lord's grace is sufficient for 
us.  (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist calls for us to fix our eyes on the Lord.  
Describe how you focus on the Lord in your faith journey.
Tell how you are able to discern God's will for your life.

2.   Our psalmist says he is fed up, having been the object 
of contempt and mockery from the arrogant ones around him.
Even Jesus was mocked in his native village.  Tell of how you 
deal with insult and persecution when you proclaim the Gospel.

Psalm for Sunday, June 27, 2021

Reflections

Psalm 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13   (Read)

“I praise you Lord, for you 
raised me up; you let me live.” 

   
God did not make death, nor 
does He rejoice at the destruction 
of the living. His divine favor lasts 
a lifetime. 

In the words of our psalmist, we too, 

by the grace of God, are able to be 
saved from going down into the pit. 

We too are eligible for a spiritual 

resurrection if our faith is strong.

We may be rebuked by God for 
disobeying Him. We are, after all, 
his wayward children, and He loves 
us as a Father loves his own.   
God's compassion and mercy are 
with us not only in this life but in 
eternity.  “God's anger lasts but a 
moment; His favor lasts a lifetime.”

Our Lord Jesus himself was raised up 

from the pit by the Father, even though 

He bore the weight of our sins.  
God’s anger lasted but a moment.

The joy of resurrection comes to us at 
dawn, after a terrible night, as it came 
to those early followers of Jesus. 
“At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with 
the dawn there is rejoicing.”

And that alone is reason enough to 
change our 'mourning into dancing,'

to clothe us with gladness. We are 

prompted to sing endless praise to 
the Lord.  “O LORD, my God, forever
will I give you thanks.”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection
 
1.  Our psalmist tells us that God's anger lasts but a moment, while His 
favor lasts a lifetime.  Tell of how you have been rebuked by the Lord, 
and following repentance, how you have received His grace.  

2.  The Psalm is about being rescued by the Lord and how God lifts us 
out of the pit.  Speak of how you have been saved by the Lord and brought 
up from a sinful existence.

Psalm for Sunday, June 20, 2021

Reflections


Psalm 107:  23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31   (Read)

“The Lord hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, 
and the billows of the sea were stilled.”


 















In the Psalm God saves the afflicted from the storms of life. 
And in this Sunday's 1st reading,  the Lord addresses Job 
out of the storm and reminds him that God alone can say,
“Here shall your proud waves be stilled!” (Job 38:11)

In today's Gospel,  Jesus saves the disciples from their storms 
of doubt that day on the Sea of Galilee.  (Gospel, Mark 4:39)   
The disciples were like those described in the Psalm:  
“Some went off to sea in ships; they saw the 
works of the Lord, the wonders of God in the deep.”

When we are facing the storms of life, where do we 
turn to be delivered from our distress?  We cry out 
to the Lord, as the Psalm says, “In their distress, they 
cried out to the Lord, who brought them out of their peril, 
and stilled the waves of the sea.”

Storms at sea were a constant threat to the disciples, 
several of whom made their living as fishermen.    
In today's Gospel, the disciples are filled with awe and 
say to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind 
and sea obey?” (Mark 4:41)

That same power that delivered the disciples from the 
storm that day on the Sea of Galilee is available to us, 
to strengthen us as we trade in deep waters and are 
tossed about.

We all rejoice when we are saved by the Lord.
As the psalmist says, “They rejoiced that the sea grew calm, 
that God brought them to the harbor they longed for.”

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection
 
1.  In the Psalm the Lord hushed the storm and saved those
who sailed the sea.  Describe how God has intervened in your 
life and saved you from distress.

2.  Our psalmist says that God brought those sailors to the
harbor they longed for after the sea grew calm.   Tell how our Lord 
has brought fair winds and following seas to your life and given you 
the direction you desire.

Psalm for Sunday, June 13, 2021

Reflections (by J Kim)

Psalm 92: 2-3, 13-14, 15-16  (Read)

"Lord, it is good to give thanks to you."
  
Displaying an attitude of gratitude.  Sending 
a thank-you note.  Saying your "please 
and thank you’s.”   Such are lessons we 
teach our children as we train them in 
what is socially proper.  If only we would 
spend as much time considering what is 
proper in the spiritual sense.

God our Creator is all-deserving and worthy 
of our praise.  A well-known prayer guide 
pinpoints five essential elements of prayer.  
Adoration, Confession, Petition, and 
Intercession, are ALWAYS followed by 
Thanksgiving.  Psalm 92:2 is often quoted 
in support:  "It is good to give thanks to the 
Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High."

Also to be noted is the use of the word "sing" in that first verse.
The Lord loves to hear our voices in song.  Thus, hymns of any 
sort are an integral part of worship.  Something about singing 
focuses our hearts on Jesus and softens his heart to accept 
our prayerful pleas.

Our Abba Father gives us our days in 24 hour increments.
Could we handle any more?  His grace is enough for each day;
the psalmist writes, "It is good to proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night."

The cedar of Lebanon is a mighty and beautiful tree referenced
throughout Scripture.  In this Sunday's first reading, a small cedar 
shoot is replanted and compared to a "majestic cedar" as it grows 
strong with its roots  firmly planted. (Ezekiel 17:22-23)  The Psalm 
says, “The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of 
Lebanon shall he grow."

Later, the psalmist writes, "They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be."  Living in a righteous manner, 
with the foundations of our beliefs firmly rooted, we too are called
to have the strength and fruitfulness of the cedar, even unto the
very end of our earthly lives.  

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  "Lord, you are holy indeed.  It is right to give you thanks and praise."
These are familiar words to any Mass-goer.   How do you sincerely give thanks
to the Lord in your daily life?

2.  How can you become more like the upright palm tree or the majestic and 
firmly-rooted Lebanese cedar?  Do others see you as a just and righteous person
through your everyday speech and actions?  What can you change about 
yourself so that you, too, can "bear fruit even in old age?"