Psalm for Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012

Reflections

Psalm 118: 1-2, 16-17, 22-23

This is an Easter song that marks
the procession of the pilgrims going up
to Jerusalem for the feast of Tabernacles.
The Psalm begins with a call to praise
that starts the procession.
“Give thanks to the Lord …
whose love endures forever.”
The procession sings a hymn
of thanksgiving along the way.

Israel is continuously put to the test,
humbled and then delivered.
In so doing Israel discovers its calling
to be a people of God
and to bear witness to the nations.

Jesus makes this calling his own,
and in the Psalm we read in advance
of the mystery of Christ,
who is rejected and then exalted,
and who becomes the foundation stone
of the new People of God --
“I shall not die, but live.
And declare the works of the Lord.”

As the psalmist says, “The right hand
of the Lord has struck with power;
the right hand of the Lord is exalted.”
Our days of mocking our Savior are over;
we no longer hurl insults at him. 

“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.”
Our savior has risen.
“By the Lord has this been done;
It is wonderful in our eyes.”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.   Our Response is, "This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad."  On this Easter Sunday,
explain what is the basis of your joy and gladness and how your
life is affected by our exalted Savior.

2.  Our Lord, rejected by the 'builders' of his time,
has become the 'cornerstone' of our lives.   What does it mean
to you to build your faith on the resurrection of Jesus?

Psalm for April 1, 2012, Palm Sunday

 Reflections

Psalm 22:  8-9,  17-18,  19-20,  23-24

David writes this psalm almost as though
it were planned to be part of the Passion of Christ.
It is as though David knew what was coming
when Christ was crucified.
Its theme is that the sufferings
of the righteous man
will restore life to humanity.
The Psalm also becomes the prayer of Christ
at the time of his crucifixion
and speaks of the suffering that our Savior
experienced on our behalf.

People are the same today
as they were back then,
when Jesus was being led to the cross.
We scoff at him; we mock him;
we wag our heads; and hurl insults at him.

Why?  
Because he becomes contemptible in our eyes.  
He reminds us that we are a sinful people;
he convicts us; he catches us in the lie;
he embarrasses us; he exposes us;
he accuses us of being hypocrites.  

He holds us to a higher standard;
he speaks directly to God;
he claims to be God's Son;
and we reject him for this; and mock him.  
We do not move to assist him;
let God rescue him –
“He relied on the Lord – let him deliver him;
 let him rescue him, if he loves him.”

These are the same words used by those
who conspired against Jesus
when he was dying on the cross.  
They did not realize that the suffering and death
of an innocent servant
would restore life for sinful man.  
The words they spoke
were to be fulfilled,
not by Jesus coming down from the cross,
but by sinful humanity like us
being delivered, forgiven, and lifted up.  

The psalm describes the Passion of Christ,
and we know that what seemed like
a moment of weakness for Christ
became a source of strength
for the rest of us.  
God reverses this righteous man’s condition –
“But you, O Lord, be not far from me;
O my help, hasten to aid me.”

Hope returns, the righteous man is delivered,
And he celebrates his deliverance--
“I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
You who fear the Lord, praise him ....”

Because Jesus humbled himself
and accepted death on the cross,
“God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him
the name that is above every name.”

Amen
 

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  The psalmist speaks of those who scoff at him and mock him.  
 In what way can you identify with those who scoff at our Savior 
 and mock him with parted lips?  

2.  The Response is, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"   
Why do you think our Lord would have uttered these words 
at the time of his Passion?  What had changed for God's son?  
Had God changed?

Psalm for Sunday, March 25, 2012

Reflections

 Psalm 51:  3-4, 12-13, 14-15

This Psalm is perhaps David’s greatest prayer,
his mea culpa, after Nathan comes to him
to call 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 him from his sin.
He calls on the Lord to blot out his offense,
knowing that the Lord, in his abundant compassion,
will wash away his guilt.
David’s sins, like our own,
are offensive to God first and foremost –
we are all born of a sinful nature

David’s words are a prayer of repentance
and recall for us the power of the Sacrament of Confession.
“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 your holy Spirit.”
David reminds us that without the Holy Spirit
we are ruled by the desires of this world.
And without it we cannot bear the fruits of the Spirit,
which we are called to do.

The people of Jeremiah’s time (in the 1st reading)
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.
We can almost hear David’s loud cries
and see his tears, as he offers this prayer
and seeks his own inner renewal.
When Christ was in the flesh, this is how he himself prayed,
as we are reminded in the 2nd reading.

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 (per the Gospel)
we can again bear fruit and be good witnesses for the Lord.
In that way, we will then “teach the wicked God’s ways,”
and our mouths will proclaim His praise.

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 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.

Psalm for Sunday, March 18, 2012

Reflections

Psalm 137:  1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

This Psalm is a song of the chosen people in exile in Babylon.
As our 1st reading (2nd Chronicles)  tells us, the Lord became angry with the Israelites because of their many infidelities.
And when they mocked the messenger of God, God allowed them to be carried off to Babylon as slaves.
“By the rivers of Babylon, we sat mourning and weeping.”

But they could not forget Jerusalem
and the covenant God had made with them.
“If I forget you Jerusalem, may my right hand wither.”
And more important, God did not forget them.

It is the same way with us.
We sin against God and he allows us to be carried off
into a kind of self imposed exile,
where we separate ourselves from him for a time.

“But how could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?”
When our hearts are hardened by sin,
how could we sing a song of the Lord? 
When we are in the darkness because we prefer
the darkness, how could we sing a song of the Lord?
When we are separated from the Lord
and indulging in things of the world,
how could we sing a song of the Lord?
It is only when we are in the light,
then can we sing a song of the Lord.

As our 2nd reading (Ephesians) tells us,
“Even when we [are] dead in our transgressions,
[God] brings us to life with Christ.”
And the Gospel reminds us in a powerful way that
although we are a wicked people who hate the light,
God sent his Son not to condemn us,
but to save us and lead us into the light.
That is how we free ourselves from our own spiritual exile.

And that is how we too can say as the psalmist says,
”May my tongue stick to my palate
 if I do not remember you,
if I do not exalt Jerusalem beyond all my delights.”

Amen 

 
Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  This Sunday's Response is, "Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!" 
When you are separated from God because of sin,
have you noticed how it becomes difficult to praise and worship Him?
In a way your tongue becomes silenced for a time.  
Explain how you can get your voice back and start again singing a song of the Lord.

2.  Our psalmist tells us that it was difficult for the Israelites
captive in Babylon to sing the songs of Zion in a foreign land. 
Is it sometimes difficult for you to speak of your faith
in the company of non-believers?    If you are being persecuted
by a world that does not acknowledge you as one of its own,
how do you overcome your reticence and speak boldly of your faith?

Psalm for Sunday, March 11, 2012

Reflections

Psalm 19:  8, 9, 10, 11

This Psalm celebrates the law of the Lord,
first given to the Israelites that day on Mt. Sinai in the desert.  “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; his statutes are true, all of them just.”

But more than a set of rules that we cannot hope to follow, God’s commandments give us wisdom; they ‘rejoice our hearts; they are more ‘desirable than gold, sweeter also than honey.’

The Word is the same way;
even though we may be convicted by the Word,
our Savior Lord Jesus came to fulfill the law
and make us right with the Lord.
And just as the disciples came to believe in the scriptures
when Jesus was raised, we too know Him as the ‘Word made flesh,’
the one who perfected the ‘wisdom of God.’

Our Psalmist David shows us that obeying the law does not prevent us
from being happy.  Instead, obeying the Law “brings much reward.”
We may think of statutes as something intended to control us or restrict us,
but as our psalmist explains, the law of the Lord
is in fact a source of joy, something to be desired,
because the law gives us wisdom and provides us with something
we can trust.

This Psalm tells us about the joy that is stirred up in our hearts
when we follow the Lord’s commands.
“The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.”
The Word and the statutes endure forever.
They are refreshing to the soul; they enlighten the eye.
It is through the Word that we know his commandments
and through this Psalm that we know His law is
a source of refreshment, a source of joy.
His statutes do not bind us, they set us free.  

Amen


Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our psalmist says that the ordinances of the Lord
are 'sweeter than honey.'   How can it be that, instead of being harsh,
the commandments of the Lord are sweet to the taste?  Explain.

2.  Our psalmist says that the commandments of the Lord
are a source of joy -- they 'rejoice the heart.'   Tell about how
obeying the commandments can be a source of joy in your life.

Psalm for Sunday, March 4, 2012

Reflections

Psalm 116:  10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

This Psalm is one Abraham might have recited when he was called on to sacrifice his son Isaac.  
“I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving …
I will  pay my vows to the Lord.”
Who else could have kept the faith at a time like that?  Yet Abraham’s devotion to the Lord did not waver.
We may not be called upon to offer up so heavy a sacrifice,
but we are commanded to listen to God’s son, and to imitate him.

Abraham may have used words like those of  our psalmist,
“I believed even when I said, ‘I am greatly afflicted.”
God relented and provided a substitute for Isaac,
“Too costly in the eyes of the Lord is the death of the faithful.”
But as for his own Son, God did not spare him,
as St. Paul reminds us in our 2nd reading.

And for whom did God sacrifice his son Jesus?
It was for us that God handed over his beloved Son.
Jesus’ death on the cross has given us life –
As people of faith we are chosen by God for life.
We pray that we are not led to the test as Abraham was,
but we might at least, as the Psalm says,
“Pay our vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.”

The psalmist says,
“O Lord, I am your servant …  you have loosed my bonds.”
 We too are made free by becoming the Lord's servant.
That is how it is when we follow his commandments
and do his will.  
It is not something that binds us.
Rather, it is something that sets us free.
We take delight in serving the Lord.

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection 

1.  Our psalmist speaks of the power of his faith, even in the darkest of times, 

"I believed, even when I said, 'I am greatly afflicted.'"   Give an example of

 how your faith has strengthened you in difficult times.

2.  The Psalm says, 'O Lord, I am your servant ... you have loosed my bonds.'   

Explain how it is that, having been freed from your chains, you wish to serve 

the Lord and become yoked to Him.

Psalm for Sunday, February 26, 2012

 Reflections  

Psalm 25:  4-5, 6-7, 8-9

The Psalm is a prayer for forgiveness and guidance,
a good way to begin the season of Lent.
The same covenant the Lord made with Noah (1st reading) gives comfort to David, who calls out, “Remember your compassion and love, O Lord, for they are ages old ...
Good and upright is the Lord, who shows sinners the way.”

Later in the psalm David begs the Lord, “Have pity on me …
put an end to my affliction and suffering, take away all my sins.”
Who else could take away our sins but God’s son,
the righteous one who suffered for us, the unrighteous ones,
as Peter reminds us in the 2nd reading.
Peter says Baptism doesn’t remove the dirt from our bodies;
it doesn’t remove our sinful nature.
But it does allow us to receive the holy Spirit within us,
because without the Spirit,
we are powerless against the Devil.

We are blessed to have a God
who does not disregard us.
On the contrary, he is a caring, compassionate God,
willing to humble himself to share in our humanity,
so that we might come to share in his divinity. 
Who else would have such regard for sinners,
for believers who disobey him?
It is He who encourages us when our tongues confess –
“The Lord guides the humble rightly,
and teaches the humble the way.”

Our Lord Jesus tells us what we are to do
as we prepare for the most important season of the year: 
“Repent and believe in the Gospel.” 
Our response is – David said it years before --
“You are God my Savior.”

Amen

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.  Our Psalm speaks of being taught by the Lord
("teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me;
he teaches the humble his way.")   Are you a good student of the Lord?
Tell about what you have learned or are learning from the Lord. 

2.  According to our psalmist, the Lord "shows sinners the way." 
As we enter the season of Lent, we could all use some guidance
and help as we strive for repentance and to be bolder in our faith. 
Explain what you will do during Lent to become a more obedient
Christian and a better witness for your faith.