Psalm Reflection: Fourth Sunday of Advent (Cycle C)

“Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.” - Psalm 80

Is Jesus your first choice or your last resort? When things get difficult, who is the first person that you turn to? More often than not, we go to our friends, family or Google for help first. Those things are great, but when Scripture says, “my help is in the Lord,” we are reminded that Jesus is the One we should turn to first and foremost. Maybe you are really good at turning to God in moments of difficulty for guidance or when you need to discern what to do. But, do you turn to him first in moments of thankfulness and gratitude for all that He has given you? Do you turn to Him with your hopes and your desires for the future? Or do we simply turn to Him when everything is falling apart? We should always turn to Him in those moments, but when we treat God like the last line of defense we can blame him unfairly when things don’t work out, because we didn’t allow ourselves to trust Him enough to guide us in a different direction from the start. Maybe it is because we are ashamed of what we need help with, or we feel like we do not deserve for God to help us out of the mess we made. This week, pray this prayer every day: “Jesus, there is no mess that you cannot love me through,” as a reminder that no matter the circumstances, you can trust God to help you and come through for you. So, let us turn to Him for our help and our salvation first, instead of everywhere else. We are praying for you!

See you in the Eucharist!