Psalm for Sunday, October 2, 2022

Reflections


Psalm 95:  1-2, 6-7, 8-9   (Read)

"Oh that today you would hear His voice."

    












Knowing God's will is hard enough;
discernment is a gift from God.
But even if we are gifted enough to
be able to discern God 's will,
can we have the courage and conviction
to actually do His will?   Today more than
ever we need to hear His voice.  As God the
Father said, “This is my beloved Son
with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

In the Gospel, Jesus instructs the disciples
how to do all they have been commanded.  
As followers of Jesus, we too are to do all 
that we are obliged to do.

Doing the will of God must have been
difficult even for the disciples, hand picked
by our Lord himself.  How much more so is
the will of God a challenge for ordinary
persons like us?  Even the disciples must
have been in awe of what Jesus was
commanding them to do.

“Harden not your hearts.”
Our spiritual history is full of occasions
where the faithful were known to have
hardened their hearts and refused to listen
to God's voice, though they had seen
His works, as our psalmist mentions.
But after all, He is our God, as the psalm says,
and we are the people he shepherds.

Our job is to kneel before the Lord who
made us and to carry out His will the best
we can.   And if we are careful to listen
to His voice, He will empower us to do
His will, just as Jesus empowered the
disciples to rise up to the challenge of
the Great Commission and to become 
ordinary men performing extraordinary 
deeds.

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection
 
1.  Our psalmist encourages us not to harden our hearts
when we hear God's voice.   Do you find it difficult sometimes
to carry out God's will in your life even if you believe
He is speaking to you?   Give an example.

2.  The psalm reminds us that we are like sheep and the Lord is
our shepherd.   Are you willing to be just an ordinary sheep among
His flock?  If so, what does it mean to you to be shepherded
by the Lord?
  

Psalm for Sunday, September 25, 2022

Reflections 

Psalm 146: 7, 8-9, 9-10   (Read)

“The Lord gives food to the hungry, 
sets captives free.”

Christ Jesus carries out the promises 

of the Psalm – He sets us captives free 

and gives sight to us so we can truly see.

The Lord raises us up when we are down. 

He sustains us -- with real food and drink. 

Who among us is not hungry for a closer 

relationship with The Lord?

You may ask, “When were we oppressed, 

or hungry, or in prison?” Have we not 

been under pressure from the evil one 

to commit sin? Have we not been held 

captive at one time or another by our sins? 

And do we not experience a hunger for 

the Lord and for a deeper faith?

That same power that gives sight to the 

blind and raises up those who are bowed 

down is available to free us from whatever

imprisons us. All it takes is to receive Him 

and open our hearts to our Savior.

The Psalm is telling us we really need 

to humble ourselves if we want to be 

raised up with Jesus. That may be hard 

to do if it means we have to swallow our 

pride and put aside worldly concerns. 

But if we truly want to be set free from 

the sins that bind us, then we need to 

repent and bow down before the Lord, 

accept our brokenness, and seek His 

healing ministry. Only then will we begin 

to have a right relationship with the Lord.

Having done so, we can pray this Psalm, 

not only in honor of the heavenly Father, 

but also in honor of Jesus Christ, whom 

God exalted. We then join with the psalmist 

and sing, “The Lord shall reign forever; 

our God, through all generations.”

Amen

  

 Discussion Questions for Reflection
   

1.  Our psalmist assures us that the Lord gives food to the hungry.   Describe how 

your spiritual hunger is satisfied by the nourishment you receive from God.
 

2.  The Psalm says that the Lord thwarts the way of  the wicked.   Reflect on your 

experience and give an  example of how the Lord has overcome evil that was

a threat to you.

Psalm for Sunday, September 18, 2022

Reflections

Psalm 113:  1-2, 4-6, 7-8   (Read)

 “He raises up the lowly from the dust.”

This Psalm teaches us once again 

that our God, who is at once exalted above all men, is willing to stoop low 

and to raise us up to His own level.   

God reverses common wisdom, 

and we who are called His servants 

are lifted up out of the dung heap 

of life and treated as royalty in His kingdom. 

“Who is like the Lord, our God, who is enthroned
on high and looks upon the heavens and the earth
below.”   It is God's nature to seek out the lowly
and the afflicted ones of this world, and who is to say
that we are not all afflicted?

Christ Jesus shows an amazing ability to bring up
to His level the outcast of society – the poor, the
lowly, the barren.  Often criticized for eating and
drinking with sinners, our Savior shows us how
to behave toward our neighbors, to understand
that it is the sick who need a physician.

Jesus' behavior is in sharp contrast to the conduct
of the merchants described in Sunday's first reading

(Amos 8: 4-7).   They have undisguised contempt for 

the poor whom they are exploiting.   But Jesus 

reminds us that the poor have a divine and powerful 

advocate.   The compassion of our Lord reaches 

down to those whom the powerful of the earth regard 

as nothing.  Jesus devotes his spiritual wealth and 

loving attention not to those who can give something 

in return, but to those whom the world disregards.   

With such a loving God in our midst, we are inspired
to become like Him, and to join with our psalmist and
sing praise to our God, and praise his name.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection 

1.  Our Psalm reminds us that the Lord on high reaches down to our human level to lift us up.   How can it be that our God, who is exalted above all nations, is willing to stoop to our lowly level and show concern for us?

2.  What does it mean when our psalmist says that God raises up the lowly from the dust and seats them with princes?