Reflections
Psalm 91: 1-2, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15 (Read)
This Sunday's Psalm is about God’s
protection of the faithful. It applies to us
who place ourselves under His protection
along the path of life. The psalmist
addresses us, “You who dwell in the shelter
of the Most High, say to the Lord, 'My refuge
and fortress.'”
As mentioned in Sunday’s first reading, the
Israelites were in great distress under the
oppression of the Egyptians. What the Lord
did for them, He is prepared to do for us,
“The Lord heard our cry and saw our
affliction.” (Deuteronomy 26:7)
In today's Gospel even the devil respects
the power of God and His commitment to our
security, when he quotes this verse of the Psalm,
“For God commands the angels to guard you in
all your ways.” (Luke 4:10)
And how do we obtain this level of protection
amidst the snares along the way and the terror
of the night? We call upon the Lord, and we trust
in Him to deliver us, “Whoever clings to me I will
deliver; whoever knows my name I will set on high.”
St Paul proclaims a similar message in Sunday's
second reading, “Everyone who calls on the name
of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
Our psalmist agrees and quotes the Lord,
“All who call upon me I will answer; I will be with
him in distress; I will deliver and give him honor.”
What could be more reassuring than that?
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist speaks about God's angels guarding us in all our ways.
Give an example of how you have been borne up upon the wings of angels
and given power physically or spiritually to trample down the devil and his minions.
2. In the Psalm God says that if we cling to Him, He will deliver us and set us on high. Tell of what it means to you to 'cling' to the Lord, and having done so, how have you been made free from evil that threatens you.
In the psalms, God repeatedly invites us to find our hope, salvation, and refuge in Him. It is all about dwelling in safety and security. When we are tired, afraid, or sad, we all want a place to go where we can find rest and peace. When we feel lonely, we need a shelter and we all need our safe places. We can take refuge in the presence of the Lord, knowing that nothing can separate us from God’s love. A refuge is a place of safety and protection and, like the psalmist, we certainly can trust God’s faithfulness.
ReplyDeleteWe live in difficult times, with many people unsettled as a result of the things going on around them (the contemporary dangers of this world in our day — terrorist attacks, wars, nuclear bombs and of course, such exotic new diseases like COVID-19). This is why the psalmist’s invitation in this psalm is very relevant today: He invites us to make the Most High our dwelling and to live in the shadow of the Almighty.
As followers of Christ, even in the midst of bad times and uncertainties, we can constantly feel the joyful presence of God. While we continue to see unprecedented things across the nations of the world and get absolutely puzzled by all that is changing at such a rapid pace, we can be of good cheer by remembering that our lives are in God’s hands and He is able both to comfort us in our pains and to deliver us, even unto eternal life.
Psalm 91 has gotten me through some frightening times. I remember the passage with a bittersweet affection as I called on these very words to sustain me in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attack of 2001. My husband was in the US Army Medical Corps at the time. Stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, the peaceful palm trees set against the beautiful sky stood in stark contrast to the growing angst and despair of the country. I could not shake the sense of impending doom, especially for those in the military. We were going to war. Deployments to Germany and Afghanistan began in a matter of weeks.
ReplyDeleteMilitary families are my heroes. It is not an easy thing to send a loved one off to a foreign country to keep the peace, much less to fight. And yet, that is the unspoken expectation. Such families display an honorable patriotism in their willingness to serve and sacrifice.
Our situation was a little unusual. My husband had almost fulfilled his entire service obligation and we were of the mindset of being discharged soon, ready for life in the civilian world. However, in such times of national tragedy, the US military may invoke a "stop-loss" or involuntary extension of active service, and they eventually did.
Every single time my husband telephoned me from work, I would ask, "Did it happen?... Did the stop loss order come down? Are you being deployed?" Meanwhile, my infant son would be cooing at me after a satisfactory nap. It was therapeutic to have to care for a baby (and also a toddler) during these times. In the end, the Lord showed me his love in knowing what I could handle and what I couldn't. It was a miracle that our family was able to exit the military, as planned, while medical colleagues left for their MIddle Eastern deployments on the frontlines, in harm's way.
The famous verses of 11-12 ring so vividly today as they did then. "For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone." I remember feeling so protected as I read these words. How cunning of the enemy to try to use this promise against Jesus... to tempt him to show his power.
Presently, as war rages again... and the question of US military involvement is once more in public discourse, these same words resurge in importance to me. I am instantly comforted.