The Ultimate promise of love and care

We continue with our study of God’s love and care as it is expressed in the Psalms. Today we conclude Psalm 23.

Verse 5a: You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes.

·         Reading this from where we live now, that banquet becomes the Eucharist, which we celebrate in the presence of all the angels and hosts of heaven. Our enemies and foes—that is, Satan and his minions—can look on but can not get to us. If sometimes you may be distracted by temptations or even sinful thoughts during the Mass, simply remember where you are and remember who you are and what it is that God is about to do for you, and you will be free of what is trying to distract you. Don’t be dismayed when distractions come. It is bound to happen. After all, look at how close to God we are becoming and considering that our great foe doesn’t want that to happen.

Verse 5b: My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing.

·         Once again I look at this from our present perspective. We have indeed been anointed with oil: in Baptism and again in Confirmation.

·         The cup: could it be the chalice which will be poured out for us abundantly.

Verse 6a: Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.

·         To be honest, I have a problem with this verse, particularly because there are so many of our brothers and sisters who are currently living in misery. I read yesterday that over 200 million Christians are currently being persecuted for their faith or are refugees with nowhere to settle. I also  consider those who are dying on beds of pain, or the destitute homeless, and I’m sure you could name your own examples as well. In fact the only way I see this verse coming true for all of us if it refers to what happens after death. Interesting enough, the second part of this verse hints at the escaton.

Verse 6b: In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

·         “I am going to prepare a place for you,” the Lord tells his disciples, and that is meant for us as well. This is the ultimate expression of God’s eternal care and love for us.

Here we pause. For your own reading, I suggest you read the High Priestly Prayer (John 17) which we have been hearing at Mass lately. In this prayer, Jesus prays explicitly for us and for what He wants to happen to us. He prays these words as his farewell prayer before he is taken away to be crucified, so it has particularly poignancy and power.

God bless you.

An unending source of comfort

The great commandment that Jesus mentions several times before He is taken away to be put to death is emphasized at the beginning and at the end of today’s Gospel (Friday of Week 5): This I command you: love one another. Three simple words at the end of the passage. (John 15:17).

The command is better explained at the beginning of the passage: Love one another as I love you. That has particular meaning for us as we continue our journey through the psalms asking the question, “How does he love us?” In light of the great commandment given above, our search takes on new immediacy. Whatever we discover about how God cares for us, that is what we must do to the best of our abilities. Sometimes we uncover things which are too far beyond our human capacities, but at all time and in all ways, we must seek to do whatever we can, whatever we are ready to do, and whatever the Spirit of God prompts us to do. Keep that in mind as we continue with this Psalm series over the weeks to come.

We are still looking at Psalm 23:

If I should walk in the valley of darkness

no evil would I fear.

You are there with your crook and your staff;

with these you give me comfort. (23:4)

·         Last week we studied a hymn which suggested that the staff becomes the Cross, and that may be our guide.

·         I remember when I was Pastor of our parish, and I could see from the altar so many people who were obviously in pain and who spent a good deal of time simply staring at the crucifix over the altar. That was what got them through the time of suffering they had to endure.

·         What might be your “valley of darkness?” Is it some experience that you got through and survived, or might it be something that you are actually going through right now? Look to the “crook and staff”---look to the Cross. Experience the comfort which God alone can give.

·         I remember a very difficult and painful time in my own life. I was at a concert in a Lutheran church. Behind the altar was a beautiful mosaic of Christ the good shepherd. During the concert, I became transfixed by looking at the mosaic, and it seemed to come alive, and Christ’s eyes were on me, and I sensed power and comfort coming from the image and entering my heart and soul, and I was filled with comfort and love so much so that the difficult time I was having simply came to an end right there in that lovely little church. (The music, by the way, was by J.S. Bach, to whom I often look as a patron.

·         Perhaps we are incapable of offering comfort to the power and the degree that Our Lord is able to do; but whenever we see another person in pain, Christ may use us to bring His comfort to that person. And when we read the stories in the news or on the Internet about people who are suffering, perhaps we can pause from our reading and hold those people up in prayer and ask Christ to comfort them. In this way, we are living in the space of Psalm 23.

We are moving very slowly through Psalm 23. And that is fitting, since it is so full of the love and care of our God. We continue on Sunday.

God bless you.